The Narthex

United in life and dance—that's how we all remember them—Alice and Ellen Kessler were also united in their final farewell, with a double assisted suicide. Alice and Ellen Kessler, the famous German artistic duo the Kessler Twins, beloved in Italy since the 1960s, have died at the age of 89.…

COP30, the 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference, opens today. The meetings will begin in Belém, a Brazilian port city located on the edge of the Amazon, and will end on November 21. Expectations are high among large sectors of the establishment, lobbies, and environmental movements, but there's also a…

 For the children of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the children of the light. – Luke 16:8

SNAP Shutdown The continuing shutdown of the federal government has interrupted SNAP payments. SNAP is a federal program to provide food money to the poor. There are currently more than 41 million SNAP recipients. This seems to be one of those areas where the priority of the poor comes into…

In a recent essay, I quoted approvingly Oren Cass’s observation that employment, labor, and immigration law form a coherent legal whole that protects both national security and domestic workers. Summarizing Cass, immigration law determines who can work; employment law fixes “baseline” criteria for the employer-employee relationship; and labor law protects…

In his video defending immigrants, Chicago archbishop Blase Cupich begins by talking about migrants without regard to their status. “We stand with the father who labors in silence to build a better future.” Then, speaking expressly to immigrants “without documents,” Cupich adds, “Most of you have been here for years.…

The European Union adopted in October 2025 its “LGBTIQ+ Equality Strategy 2026-2030,” a document that immediately sparked heated debate across the continent. The strategy, officially presented by the European Commission, promises to raise the bar on rights, safety, and inclusion for LGBTIQ+ people, but some of its content is generating…

Is producing 6,000 babies in test tubes an “achievement” for a government? Yes, apparently, according to Polish parliamentarian Weronika Smarduch. October 15 marks the second anniversary of the election of Donald Tusk’s current left-leaning government which she supports. Its apologists have taken to social media to tout its “achievements.” MP…

Writing in the October 9 Die Welt, Andreas Rosenvelder observed that then-Google CEO Eric Schmidt said something remarkable in a 2009 interview: "If there's something you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't do it.” The advice seems harmless, like that of an older brother, but it's also the…

Chicago Drama ICE's current campaign against illegal immigrants in Chicago has led to numerous detentions at its Maywood, Illinois, facility. Complaints are now being made that ICE is preventing pastoral access (confessions and Communion calls) to detainees. If true, that would be concerning. People should have religious care. However, I…

“Due diligence” is an expectation that someone responsible for making an important decision research all relevant facts, risks, and legal obligations prior to making that decision. It is routine in the economic and legal fields, where exercising due diligence before committing to a contract or financial obligation is a normal…

Sarah Mullally’s New Role King Charles III through UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer (or maybe vice versa) has appointed Sarah Mullally to be the next “Archbishop of Canterbury.” Thoughts? Well, in one sense the question is moot. There hasn’t been a real Archbishop of Canterbury for over 400 years. Changes…

Illinois Democratic Senator Dick Durbin, known for his radically pro-abortion and pro-LGBT positions, was originally scheduled to receive a "lifetime achievement award" from Cardinal Blase Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, this November. This news sparked controversy among Catholics. Fierce criticism has come from U.S. bishops, first from Springfield, Illinois, bishop Thomas Paprocki,…

Pope Leo XIV’s premier apostolic exhortation Dilexi Te, on the poor, is due for release Thursday, though it was signed October 4. I have no insight into what it may contain and look forward to reading the Pope’s document. I do not prejudge what it might say. That said, I…

In the landscape of the Catholic Church in the United States, marked by tensions between social commitment and fidelity to moral doctrine, a development has emerged that has shaken the foundations of ecclesial dialogue. Cardinal Blase Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, announced his intention to award a "Lifetime Achievement Award" to…