The Narthex

Legatus, a group of Catholic business leaders, announced it is withholding an $850,000 tithe to the Vatican until it gets adequate answers to questions raised by financial and sex-abuse scandals in the Church. Without stating as much, the group is acknowledging the presence of present-day "temple prostitutes" and is acting toward…

“Don’t mess with Texas!” Right, probably a mistake. There’s no doubt, though, that it’s folly to cross Mother Nature. And Father Time? Why, he chronicles the history of our lives. Surely, then, Henry Ford’s famous “History is bunk!” is nonsense—on stilts.  Isn’t it history that decides our worth and measures…

Many a cardinal and bishop has praised lay involvement in the Church. One wonders if involvement by ex-FBI agents is what some didn't have in mind? A group of American laymen called Better Church Governance (BCG) is launching a new initiative to assess cardinals’ records on combatting abuse and corruption,…

What is the aim of our clicking and reading? It is not to say, "Whatever!" The aim is thinking. And when we think, we form judgments. We think, for example, that G. K. Chesterton was a journalist, that gin merits tonic, that the Babylon Bee has great satire. When we think we…

The de facto split in the Church's hierarchy -- between orthodox and heterodox bishops, or traditional and liberal bishops -- manifests itself even in administrative details such as the bishops' retirement. The current Church-wide system of bishops automatically tendering their resignations at age 75 but not actually retiring until the…

Can you guess what industry is among the fastest-growing in the U.S.? Self-storage. A self-storage industry newsletter reported in March 2018 that self-storage boasts an annual industry revenue of $38 billion. American storage facilities number between 44,000 and 52,000, offering around 2.3 billion square feet of rentable space. And when…