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 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 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 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 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 POSTLeo XIII's Legacy
A meeting with Thérèse, the Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel, and counsel to America
By James Hanink | May 27th 2025 11:51 AMOur welcome of Pope Leo XIV is sparking fresh interest in the heritage of Leo XIII (1878-1903), and for a range of reasons! So here, gentle reader, are a few of them to consider. First is a remarkable meeting. May 17 marked the 100th anniversary of the canonization of St.…
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 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…
READ FULL BLOG POSTAhead of the Conclave
What I Want and Don't Want in a Pope... The Interregnum... Future Reforms... and more
By John M. Grondelski | May 6th 2025 3:21 AMWhat I Want in a Pope The Catholic press and blogosphere is filled with writers pontificating on what they want in a new pontiff. Coupled with the musings of conclave observers and (pseudo) whisperers, one often hears about “a man of the Gospel,” “a man of God,” “a man of…
READ FULL BLOG POSTThe Kingdom of Heaven Is Like… a Graduation Day
On a dream of rapturous cheering and glory that energizes me to this day
By James Thunder | May 2nd 2025 11:32 AMHigh school and college graduation days are coming up, so I thought I’d share this dream which I remember like it was yesterday. On two occasions a couple years on either side of the year 2000, I attended graduations at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. I watched these events…
READ FULL BLOG POSTIs Thomas's Doubt Bad?
We sometimes jump to conclusions about others’ motivations
By John M. Grondelski | April 30th 2025 11:17 AMThe Gospel of the Second Sunday of Easter (Jn 20:19-31) incorporates two appearances by Jesus to His Apostles. His first, on Easter Sunday evening, is the institution of the sacrament of Penance, entrusting the ministry of forgiveness to His Apostles. The second, a week later, is when he confronts “doubting…
READ FULL BLOG POSTCivil Problems with a 'Common Easter'
The ecumenical proposal could result in further erasure of Easter from U.S. civil life
By John M. Grondelski | April 24th 2025 11:48 AMWe recently considered the less-than-pretty side of the “ecumenical” push to impose a common Easter. (See my post from two days ago.) That essay notes that most discussion focuses on three possible approaches: have the East adopt the Catholic approach; have the West adopt the Orthodox approach; or have both…
READ FULL BLOG POSTEcumenical Problems with a 'Common Easter'
The impractical proposal in many ways could backfire and is not worth it
By John M. Grondelski | April 22nd 2025 11:37 AMMuch attention has been given this year to a push by the late Pope Francis (with Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew) to find a date for a “common Easter.” Francis had resurrected a dormant appendix of Vatican II’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy as his warrant for the push which, one senses,…
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