The Narthex

The 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…

Do 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…

In March of 2023, notorious transgender TikToker Dylan Mulvaney gushed to talk show host Drew Barrymore about the importance of surrounding oneself with good people. Barrymore clearly fit the description, in his view, because she spent much of the interview kneeling before him in worshipful adulation. Who would not want…

A “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…

Social 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…

Historical Amnesia May 8, 2025 marks the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. Four score years ago, Allied troops entered Berlin and the Thousand Year Reich ended after 13 years. Last month marked the 250th anniversary of Lexington and Concord, the battles that began the American Revolution (after the "midnight ride…

Scripture exhorts us, “O, that today you would hear His voice, do not harden your hearts!” (Ps 95:7-8; Heb 3:7-8). Occasionally, that verse appears as a refrain to the Responsorial Psalm at Mass. For those who pray the Liturgy of the Hours, Morning Prayer usually begins with Psalm 95. Why…

Writing in the National Catholic Reporter, Michael Sean Winters criticizes the economic thinking of the Trump Administration, particularly the priorities of Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought (the article is linked below). This paragraph particularly caught me:

The marriage of fiscal austerity with Christian values strikes…

Oren Cass, formerly of the Manhattan Institute and now of American Compass, is a public policy thinker I respect. I may not agree with everything he says -- for example, he’s willing to make peace with a “secular conservatism” to attract today’s young and religiously disaffiliated -- but I especially…

As we settle into Lent, let me recommend a good film about sin worth watching: Sven Nykvist’s 1991 film The Ox. The film is set in 1867 Sweden. Mid-19th century Sweden was not like wealthy, 21st-century Sweden. There is a reason Minnesota and North Dakota have as many Swedes and…

Pohutsky’s Pregnancy Problem Laurie Pohutsky is a “bisexual” Michigan Democratic State Representative from northern Wayne County (the county where Detroit sits). You’d probably never hear about a member of the Wolverine State’s legislature -- even the chair of the “Progressive Women’s Caucus" -- except for the fact that Pohutsky took…

I recently criticized in vitro fertilization (IVF) as being, despite appearances, unloving. It raises questions of spousal exclusivity when other peoples’ gametes are used. It raises questions of alienation from our bodies and our child’s, who subtly shifts from a gift to be welcomed to a commodity to be ordered.…

Many people, including Catholics, can’t see the problems with in vitro fertilization (IVF). They contend it’s “pro-life” and “gives people what they want, a baby.” So why does the Catholic Church oppose IVF? Because life and love can’t be separated, which is why Karol Wojtyla -- the future John Paul…

As a young man marries a virgin, your Builder shall marry you; and as a bridegroom rejoices in his bride, so shall your God rejoice in you (Isaiah 62:5). The Church reads this passage twice -- every year at the Christmas Vigil Mass and early in Ordinary Time of Year…

If you own a home, how many guests do you have to welcome? Most normal people would say, “As many or as few a I want. There is no obligation to have guests.” If you asked those people, “And how many of those guests should be allowed to move in…