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…

Politics and hypocrisy are rarely, if ever, parted. Godliness and politics, by contrast, are rarely, if ever, joined, especially not in the country of my birth. These two truisms have perhaps never been on dual display as glaringly as during the first half of June. At the level of political…

The House Judiciary Committee voted Tuesday, June 10, to clear a bill (HR 589; linked below) repealing the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. The FACE Act is a 1994 law (PL 103-259), introduced by then-Senator Ted Kennedy and then-Rep. Chuck Schumer and signed by President Bill Clinton, that…

It’s hard to miss the buzz about the Administration’s One Big Beautiful Bill. Not so long ago, we heard about financial institutions that were too big to fail. Now, it seems, we’re looking at a bill that’s too big to succeed. If only there were a line-item veto process! For…

President Trump is facing an intense and organized opposition PR campaign, attacking him for federalizing the California National Guard to restore law and order in the "City of Angels.” I offer a few thoughts to provide perspective: California governor Newsom, 22 other Democratic governors, and the chorus of Democratic Senators…

Can we have a discussion that prescinds from party identifications, a discussion that involves normal people talking to each other? TikTok showed a 32-year-old teacher sharing with the world her previous evening’s pillow talk with her “fiancé” -- they “won’t be having kids” if Donald Trump’s in the White House.…

The U.S. Supreme Court May 20 granted emergency relief to Laurel Libby. Who? Laurel Libby is a member of Maine’s House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Pine Tree State’s Legislature, a Republican representing the 90th district around Auburn. She’s an opponent of gender ideology who got into trouble…

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…

The New York Times reported (May 11) that, being his first conclave, the future Leo XIV approached Cardinal Luis Tagle for advice because the Filipino had previously participated in one. After Prevost’s election, Tagle supposedly told him: “If there’s anything you want to change about the conclave rules — it’s…

Mother’s Day should be one of those celebrations that elicits only happy feelings: you know, “motherhood, baseball, and apple pie.” But the reality is we need to think a little more deeply about the state of motherhood in the developed world. I’ve regularly written about the parcelization of motherhood. Modern…

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…

There has been an active campaign to promote a positive image for in vitro fertilization (IVF). Pro-abortionists (i.e., Congressional Democrats) have glommed on to the issue as part of a “reproductive rights” agenda, whose real intention is to advance abortion. Since unrestricted abortion for any reason whatsoever still encounters resistance,…

The U.S. Supreme Court April 22 heard oral arguments in Mahmoud v. Taylor. The case comes from just down the road from the Court -- Montgomery County, Maryland -- where the local school board has imposed a family life curriculum throughout elementary and secondary (even pre-) schools. The curriculum is…

We 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…

The Erasure of Easter Easter is less than a week away. Among non-believers it’s easier to ignore than Christmas, as it always falls on a Sunday. You can say “goodbye” to a co-worker on Friday and return on Monday and Easter weekend will not be noticeably different to the broader…