The Narthex
Another 'Catholic' Defends Voting for Killing
MP Chris Coghlan is upset because his pastor called him out publicly & denied him Communion
By John M. Grondelski | June 30th 2025 11:24 AMThe latest self-important politician’s tempest in a teacup comes from the land of tea time: England. Over the weekend, an unknown British Parliamentary back-bencher decided to make a name for himself. Chris Coghlan represents Dorking and Horley, a constituency just southwest of London. He’s a member of the Liberal Democrats,…
READ FULL BLOG POSTOn Defining Religion Too Narrowly
Secularists have long argued for the state’s right to control hospitals and schools
By John M. Grondelski | June 20th 2025 11:40 AMOn June 16, the U.S. Supreme Court kicked back Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany v. Harris to the New York Court of Appeals (the state’s real supreme court). SCOTUS told the New York court to reconsider its earlier decision in light of last week’s ruling in Catholic Charities v. Wisconsin…
READ FULL BLOG POSTCatholics Need to Speak Out for Kids
We must not be complicit in political 'discourse' driven by emotions
By John M. Grondelski | June 19th 2025 11:29 AMThe U.S. Supreme Court ruled June 18 in United States v. Skrmetti that Tennessee’s ban on gender mutilation for minors is constitutional. In 2023, Tennessee adopted SB1, a law prohibiting gender surgery and use of puberty blockers/hormones on “gender dysphoric” minors. The usual suspects sought to block the law, and…
READ FULL BLOG POSTThe Sunday Commute
New urban planning eschews suburban sprawl. Parish consolidations push parochial sprawl
By John M. Grondelski | June 17th 2025 11:40 AMWhile post-pandemic Sunday Mass attendance in the United States has increased, it has not returned to pre-pandemic levels. Adoremus asked me to write about whether, post-COVID, parish Masses should still be televised or made available online. My judgment was that, while broadcast Masses help the sick and shut-ins, they have…
READ FULL BLOG POSTDouble Standards for 'Protests'
On applying FACE Act criteria of injury, intimidation, and interference to today's leftist protestors
By John M. Grondelski | June 12th 2025 12:23 PMThe House Judiciary Committee voted Tuesday, June 10, to clear a bill (HR 589; linked below) repealing the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. The FACE Act is a 1994 law (PL 103-259), introduced by then-Senator Ted Kennedy and then-Rep. Chuck Schumer and signed by President Bill Clinton, that…
READ FULL BLOG POSTIn Support of 'Standers'
Catholics supposedly oppose divorce, but do we really stand with abandoned spouses?
By John M. Grondelski | June 11th 2025 11:52 AMDo you know what a “stander” is? A “stander” is apparently the left-behind spouse after a divorce who, nevertheless, remains faithful to his or her marriage vows despite abandonment by the other party. I had never heard that term until I read Leila Miller’s great essay, “Six Uncomfortable Facts about…
READ FULL BLOG POSTLaw & Order in Los Angeles
Collusion in tolerated anarchy to nullify federal law is much more than 'passive resistance'
By John M. Grondelski | June 10th 2025 11:50 AMPresident Trump is facing an intense and organized opposition PR campaign, attacking him for federalizing the California National Guard to restore law and order in the "City of Angels.” I offer a few thoughts to provide perspective: California governor Newsom, 22 other Democratic governors, and the chorus of Democratic Senators…
READ FULL BLOG POSTFr. Martin's Shell Game
He uses 'respect' to smuggle in not respect for persons but for actions and lifestyles
By John M. Grondelski | June 6th 2025 6:26 PMA “shell game” is a sleight-of-hand where, ostensibly, something is put under one of three shells that are then rapidly rotated, the player having to guess under which shell that thing is now located. This game is akin to the real-world confidence game named by the idiom “bait-and-switch.” Which brings…
READ FULL BLOG POSTMarital Lessons from Clotilde and Clovis
Learning to love each other in marriage takes a lifetime, not simply a moment
By John M. Grondelski | June 4th 2025 12:09 PMJune third is observed in France as the feast of St. Clotilde. She was the 5th-century wife of Clovis, pagan king of the Franks. Clotilde was a Catholic, an orthodox one at a time Arianism still had some following in what we now call France. The Franks were a Germanic…
READ FULL BLOG POSTBabies & Politicians
Is it normal to decide about parenthood based on who's in the White House?
By John M. Grondelski | May 29th 2025 11:23 AMCan we have a discussion that prescinds from party identifications, a discussion that involves normal people talking to each other? TikTok showed a 32-year-old teacher sharing with the world her previous evening’s pillow talk with her “fiancé” -- they “won’t be having kids” if Donald Trump’s in the White House.…
READ FULL BLOG POSTThe Resurrection and Truth
Catholic faith is like a tapestry, the threads of which all tie to the Resurrection
By John M. Grondelski | May 28th 2025 12:17 PMFrenchman Xavier Léon-Dufour and Australian Gerald O’Collins were two giants of contemporary theology on the Resurrection. Both emphasized the need to make the Resurrection central to Catholic theology. O’Collins specifically called for recognizing how the Resurrection shapes every branch of Catholic theology. (O’Collins died just last August, making this Easter…
READ FULL BLOG POST'Eternal Father, Strong to Save'
God’s solicitude for man comes not from any merit of ours but from His Love
By John M. Grondelski | May 26th 2025 1:03 PMThe recessional for Sunday Mass at my parish this week was “Eternal Father, Strong to Save,” popularly called the “Navy Hymn” (linked below). It was written by English Protestant William Whiting, although Catholics should find no issue with its theology. It was initially adopted by the British Royal Navy, at…
READ FULL BLOG POSTUnequal Women
Kowtowing to gender ideologues makes no sense in feminism's own terms
By John M. Grondelski | May 23rd 2025 11:32 AMThe U.S. Supreme Court May 20 granted emergency relief to Laurel Libby. Who? Laurel Libby is a member of Maine’s House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Pine Tree State’s Legislature, a Republican representing the 90th district around Auburn. She’s an opponent of gender ideology who got into trouble…
READ FULL BLOG POSTThree American Catholics
JFK's 1960s solution to U.S. Church-state relations was deeply flawed and destructive
By John M. Grondelski | May 21st 2025 1:30 PMSocial media carried a photo of Pope Leo XIV in the papal office with Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Do we realize how revolutionary that picture is? It’s not just that the Pope is American. It’s that the Vice President is a Catholic, as is…
READ FULL BLOG POSTThe Peace of Order
The tranquility of order is a defining feature of Augustinian spirituality, Pope Leo's thought
By John M. Grondelski | May 19th 2025 6:30 PMYesterday Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass to formally inaugurate his Petrine ministry, which began May 8. Cardinals of various theological and ideological preferences in many ways seem to have coalesced around the election of Robert Prevost at least in part because his "record" is more his priestly and episcopal service…
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