The Narthex

Even in her nineties Rena Poulos, Inglewood’s restauranteur of renown, would ask paper-reading patrons, “Any good news yet?” These days would she even bother to ask? For my part, as a mid-septuagenarian, I’m attuned to the folly of youth. My own daughter hasn’t registered to vote, even though she could…

Many Americans were rightfully repulsed when they watched students on American college campuses openly declaring their support for Hamas terrorists that killed over 1,400 people and took and still hold hundreds of hostages. It’s ongoing: On October 24, somebody projected pro-Hamas slogans -- including “Glory to Our Martyrs!” -- onto…

Last week Ukrainian President Zelensky visited the U.S. and Canada seeking more money and weapons. As reported by Kelley Beaucar Vlahos at Responsible Statecraft (Sept. 22), the Biden administration agreed to give Ukraine long-range missiles in the “upcoming weeks.” The warheads in question, called ATACMs, were previously considered to be…

The Christopher Dawson Centre for Cultural Studies is tasked with “advancing the good name of the Catholic intellectual tradition.” At the outset it was made clear that it was to operate at arm's length from the Church and enjoy a high degree of independence, for its brief was not so…

Bishop Robert McManus of Worcester, Massachusetts, has mandated that Catholic schools in his diocese use a child’s legal name, not substitutes a student, driven by gender ideology, might want. Congratulations to him for providing episcopal leadership! [To see McManus's policy, click here.] But, some may ask, doesn’t that harm…

California is a mixed bag, and here’s an example of just how mixed. We have a new Employee Ownership office, a government hub to help companies explore worker-owned models. The American Solidarity Party would applaud this effort. Indeed, its new party platform says: “We support regulatory and tax support to…

Treasures and Pearls Last Sunday's Gospel wrapped up three weeks of Matthew 13, the chapter replete with various parables about the Kingdom of Heaven. It's only natural, therefore, that most preaching focused on the Kingdom as the buried treasure or the pearl of great price. So when my pastor, Fr.…

We’re used to “in your face” demonstrations, and so are Swedes. But now Sweden is dealing with something more, the public burning of the Quran. Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is furious: “The insult to the Holy Quran in Sweden is a bitter, conspiratorial, dangerous event. It is the opinion of…

There's a trope out there that orthodox Catholics write out of anger. That's unfair. I offer a short apologia for what usually motivates me to write. Take a piece I just published, on the murder of a 20-something Kentucky school teacher in Washington. The killing took place in broad daylight…

In the wake of the first anniversary of the Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade, partisans of abortion-on-demand continue to assert their “right to privacy” and trot out numerous other bogeymen of what an “out-of-control Supreme Court” might yet do to “human rights.” In light of this obsession with protecting…

Every nation cherishes an image of itself. We are often told that Australia’s was formed on the beaches of Gallipoli, but it’s older and more complex than that. Long before the Australian union, the people of the Australian colonies developed self-images of their own, in great variety. Few directly referred…

On Thursday, May 25, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down an important decision in the case of Tyler v. Hennepin County, Minnesota et al. Bottom line up front: a unanimous Supreme Court swatted down Hennepin County’s property tax collecting policy. I’m commenting on it because there are aspects of the…

As undergraduates at St. Mary’s College in Orchard Lake, Michigan, we were required as part of our core curriculum to take a course in art and/or music, and “Introduction to Humanities” fulfilled the requirement. I’ll admit that, as a 19-year-old, I wasn’t excited about the class and it didn’t help…

With Mother’s Day in the rear view mirror and fresh events crowding the daily “news” cycle, the controversy some retailers generated this year by offering women an “opt out” of Mother’s Day mailings and specials will likely soon be forgotten -- until it returns next year. I’ve tried to showcase…

As a moral theologian, I am interested in just war theory. Just war theory, which governs whether a country can go to war (jus ad bellum) and what it can do in war (jus in bello), is essentially a nation’s right to self-defense. That’s why I reject the arguments that…