The Narthex

The words of Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco, Archbishop of Algiers, have sparked reactions and questions about the Church's mission.  I have reiterated Vesco's statements in an interview with CathoBel, dedicated to the Catholic presence in a predominantly Muslim society. The cardinal described the Algerian Church as part of the people among…

An article by Niwa Limbu in AdVaticanum reports the words spoken on October 23 by Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco, Archbishop of Algiers, in an interview with CathoBel. The conversation concerned evangelization in a predominantly Muslim society. For Vesco, the Algerian Church is part of the people among whom it lives: "We…

On October 19, Leo XIV appointed Claudia Leal Luna to the International Theological Commission. A Chilean lay theologian, professor at the Pontifical John Paul II Theological Institute for Marriage and Family Sciences, and a consultor to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Leal is among the 24 new…

Italian journalist Riccardo Caniato’s reflections on a book titled Martina: The Heart and the Rose (Edizioni Ares), which tells the true story of a girl who died from cancer at age seven in 2007, very much surprised me. Caniato then invited me to read the book, which I did. In…

In Silicon Valley, death can be treated like a technical problem. Data is collected, biomarkers are measured, protocols are tested, and companies aiming to slow or reverse aging are funded. Some entrepreneurs even undergo experimental interventions. Bryan Johnson, for example, tried plasma exchanges with his teenage son, but later discontinued…

At the invitation of a friend from Siena, last April we attended a retreat at the Lecceto Hermitage, just outside the city. The retreat was led by a very talented priest. The Benedictine nuns write on their website, "We dedicate seven moments each day: our day begins and ends with…

Pope Leo's trip to France could have been considered just another trip that takes place according to the usual protocols. Instead, it proved disruptive, both spiritually and, perhaps above all, culturally. The trip was to one of the most secularized countries on the continent, where the secularity of the state…

"Joe Biden is perhaps on par with Bill Clinton and Barack Obama as one of the most pro-abortion presidents in U.S. history," writes LifeNews. Biden's radical abortion agenda apparently met with approval from Planned Parenthood, as America's largest abortion organization presented Biden with an award at a luxury gala in…

The trigger for the latest wave of AI-related alarm is Jacob Coxon, a researcher who moved from OpenAI to Anthropic, the company developing Claude. In resigning, Coxon accused both companies of rushing toward a self-improving superintelligence without, in his view, behaving responsibly enough. "They are gambling with our lives," was…

Faced with the escalating public debate on end-of-life care, the Catholic Church in Italy is undergoing one of the most dramatic theological and political reversals in its recent history. This is no longer a silent retreat or passive tolerance in the face of secularization, but a veritable genetic mutation. Led…

Monsignor Renzo Pegoraro, President of the Pontifical Academy for Life, discussed the law on assisted suicide approved last Wednesday by the Veneto Regional Council in an interview published in Avvenire on September 6. A native of Padua, Pegoraro follows the matter with particular personal engagement, offering an analysis that intertwines…

On June 29, 2026, Pope Leo XIV addressed a letter to Cardinal Arthur Roche, prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, on the occasion of a liturgical conference held at Mount Angel Abbey in Oregon. The text, as reported by AdVaticanum, recalls Pope Francis's Desiderio…

My first encounter with the works and genius of Antoni Gaudí dates back almost 15 years, when my wife suggested a trip to Barcelona, ​​the city where almost a century earlier the architect had begun work on one of the last great cathedrals built in the West. I wasn't familiar…

Yesterday I was absorbed in listening to Antonín Dvořák's Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104. It was the 1970 studio version, with Jacqueline du Pré as soloist and her husband, Daniel Barenboim, conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. There is also a famous live version from 1968, performed as a…

Professor Benedetto Rocchi, Associate Professor in the Department of Economics and Business Science at the University of Florence and president of the permanent observatory on abortion, expressed his astonishment about the fight against assisted suicide in Italy in an article published in La Verità on September 7, 2025. He asked,…