The Narthex
Remember Kermit Gosnell?
Ohio in 2023 should not want to be Pennsylvania in 2013
By John M. Grondelski | November 6th 2023 9:33 PMAs Buckeyes head to the polls Tuesday to vote on Issue 1, an extreme amendment to the State Constitution that would -- among other things like surrogacy, artificial reproduction, and state subsidy of abortion -- ensconce abortion-on-demand through birth, they might want to remember Kermit Gosnell. Kermit Gosnell is somebody…
READ FULL BLOG POSTA Deadly Word Game
White lab coats seem to make people believe their wearers cannot engage in sophistry
By John M. Grondelski | November 6th 2023 1:37 PMDavid Hackney is a Cleveland medical professor who is pushing Issue 1, the proposed Ohio state constitutional amendment to legalize abortion through birth, on the ballot tomorrow, November 7. He penned an article in the November 5 New York Times defending the amendment. He claims the State of Ohio is promoting…
READ FULL BLOG POSTThis Hallowed Soil
Which is more valuable: the soil that became man or the soil into which he is blended?
By John M. Grondelski | November 1st 2023 1:09 PMThen the LORD God formed the man out of the dust of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being (Genesis 2:7). One hundred and sixty years ago this November 19, Abraham Lincoln spoke at Gettysburg about hallowed ground.…
READ FULL BLOG POSTAnother Missed Catholic Teaching Moment
The Hamas attack momentarily woke Western man from his moral slumber
By John M. Grondelski | October 30th 2023 2:02 PMMany 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…
READ FULL BLOG POSTWill the Synod Offer Clarity or Confusion?
Christ's 'welcome' message was 'Repent and believe the Gospel'
By John M. Grondelski | October 3rd 2023 8:46 PMThe recent Gospel about what two sons did with their father’s call to work in his vineyard seems fitting for the week we begin a “synod about synodality.” The Gospel is ultimately about sin and repentance. Both sons sin. One sins by refusing to work in the vineyard, although he…
READ FULL BLOG POSTNewsom's Political Dissimulation
The California governor knows what sells in San Francisco won’t sell in St. Louis
By John M. Grondelski | September 25th 2023 1:55 PMIn a surprise development, nominal Catholic California Governor Gavin Newsom recently vetoed legislation that instructed California courts to take a parent’s “gender affirming” views into account when making custody or visitation decisions. No one should think, however, that the Governor has concluded that the chemical castration and/or physical genital mutilation…
READ FULL BLOG POSTDon’t Take Your Anger to Bed
Anger inflates to seem a lot bigger and more important than it often really is
By John M. Grondelski | September 21st 2023 1:06 PMLast Sunday’s readings focused on the corrosive effect of unjust anger and its ability to choke off -- as in the case of the wicked servant’s debtor, literally -- mercy. There is, of course, the danger of thinking that all anger is always bad. That’s not true. Anger is an…
READ FULL BLOG POSTRandom Ruminations #8
Must I Pay?... All Talk... Deliberate 'Errors'... Vague Values... more
By John M. Grondelski | September 18th 2023 12:42 PMI’ve explained in the past that I keep a subscription to The New York Times primarily because it is a source par excellence for the insane musings of the Left. But even I could not believe the number of such inanities the Old Gray Lady managed to publish in just…
READ FULL BLOG POSTWhere is Fraternal Correction in Fratelli Tutti?
Pope Francis does not reference teaching on fraternal admonishment
By John M. Grondelski | September 14th 2023 11:38 AMLast Sunday’s Gospel focused on fraternal correction and the steps required for the gradual acceleration of a process to correct an errant brother. From informal conversation to discussion in front of witnesses to Church adjudication to excommunication, fraternal correction makes clear that the integrity of ecclesial teaching trumps “welcome” and,…
READ FULL BLOG POSTAdmonishing the Sinner
The Gospel answers the question 'who am I to judge?' by saying it's the Church’s job
By John M. Grondelski | September 11th 2023 2:03 PMCritics sometimes argue that among the deficiencies of contemporary homiletics there is a prominent lack of moral content and instruction. That should not have been the case with last Sunday’s Gospel and readings. I will spell out why. Last Sunday’s Gospel can be misread if it is reduced to a…
READ FULL BLOG POSTThe Measure of Conscience
On our sorry attempts at self-deception, both personal and societal
By James Hanink | September 6th 2023 11:49 AMClassical literature, unlike today’s invasive shlock, offers us a legacy of rich moral reflections. Two related instances come to mind. Both make insightful judgments about our sorry attempts at self-deception, both personal and societal. In his haunting novella The Death of Ivan Ilych (1886), Leo Tolstoy points out how often…
READ FULL BLOG POSTRandom Ruminations #7
This Is a 'Sense of Sin?'... But Real Evil? Of That, Neither See Nor Speak
By John M. Grondelski | August 28th 2023 3:11 PM“Sex Work,” Trafficking, and Trucks Pamela Paul reports in the New York Times (Aug. 17) that some New York feminists are fighting to get editors to drop the euphemism “sex worker” from their style books. She explains that many have adopted this linguistic stand-in because they don’t want to appear…
READ FULL BLOG POSTThe Name Game
Ideologues call living in accord with Catholic teaching 'dysfunctional'
By John M. Grondelski | August 23rd 2023 7:20 PMI recently applauded Worcester Bishop Robert McManus’s newly promulgated policy requiring Catholic schools in the diocese to use a child’s legal name, not a gender-ideology driven substitute, when addressing a child (and not just in official documents). The policy even goes further in establishing one’s given name identity: if, after…
READ FULL BLOG POSTProtecting the Integrity of Names in Worcester
Man is not self-made but a gift from God through parents who co-create under Him
By John M. Grondelski | August 21st 2023 11:37 AMBishop 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…
READ FULL BLOG POSTSexual Extremes in Ohio
Hedonism and a kind of Puritanism battle life-giving love
By John M. Grondelski | August 7th 2023 2:47 PM"Les extremes se touchent" means the extremes touch each other, they overlap. People say the Church’s teachings about sex and life are extreme, but the truly extreme, truly contradictory response comes from its opponents. That sex can give life and foster a unique spousal relationship is not some esoteric Catholic…
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