The Narthex

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…

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…

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…

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…

June third is observed in France as the feast of St. Clotilde. She was the 5th-century wife of Clovis, pagan king of the Franks. Clotilde was a Catholic, an orthodox one at a time Arianism still had some following in what we now call France. The Franks were a Germanic…

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.…

Frenchman Xavier Léon-Dufour and Australian Gerald O’Collins were two giants of contemporary theology on the Resurrection. Both emphasized the need to make the Resurrection central to Catholic theology. O’Collins specifically called for recognizing how the Resurrection shapes every branch of Catholic theology. (O’Collins died just last August, making this Easter…

Our welcome of Pope Leo XIV is sparking fresh interest in the heritage of Leo XIII (1878-1903), and for a range of reasons! So here, gentle reader, are a few of them to consider. First is a remarkable meeting. May 17 marked the 100th anniversary of the canonization of St.…

The recessional for Sunday Mass at my parish this week was “Eternal Father, Strong to Save,” popularly called the “Navy Hymn” (linked below). It was written by English Protestant William Whiting, although Catholics should find no issue with its theology. It was initially adopted by the British Royal Navy, at…

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…

When I was a kid, I loved watching a show called This Old House. When I recently checked the PBS website for This Old House I didn’t recognize any of the cast members -- a reminder that I haven’t lived in the U.S. for a very long time, and that…

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…

This blog, NOR’s “Narthex,” has just featured its one thousandth post. As we celebrate this milestone -- 1,000 posts in only six and a half years! -- we remind readers that blog posts treat topics currently in the news and offer explainers of unexplored ideas behind the news. So, what’s…