The Narthex
God's 'Right to Privacy'
Christianity does not admit of zones of life shielded from the Divine gaze and judgment
By John M. Grondelski | June 27th 2023 9:36 PMIn the wake of the first anniversary of the Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade, partisans of abortion-on-demand continue to assert their “right to privacy” and trot out numerous other bogeymen of what an “out-of-control Supreme Court” might yet do to “human rights.” In light of this obsession with protecting…
READ FULL BLOG POSTWhat Is a Woman?
Women, made by God to know and love Him, can be co-authors with Him in His Creation
By Jason Morgan | June 16th 2023 3:00 PMA recent documentary by cultural commentator Matt Walsh asks the question of the age in its title: “What Is a Woman?” In the documentary [link to trailer here], Walsh poses this question to a range of people, from gender activists and self-styled gender experts to average men and women.…
READ FULL BLOG POSTTime, Weekends, & Childhood
The protective wall of childhood innocence is being breached
By John M. Grondelski | June 14th 2023 1:16 PMThe Psalmist sings of praise and wisdom from an unexpected source: “out of the mouth of children and of babes” (8:2). Occasionally one can find another source: in advertisements. An ad seen this morning in the Washington Metro was headlined “Childhood Passes Faster Than a Weekend.” Don’t it? Perhaps I’m…
READ FULL BLOG POSTWhere Are the June Weddings?
Church teaching on marriage is attractive, but it requires talking about it. We're not
By John M. Grondelski | June 7th 2023 11:58 AMOnce upon a time, not too long ago, June used to be associated with marriage. People spoke of “June weddings.” But while Stevie Wonder might have just been calling to say “I love you,” there was something prescient in his lyric about “no wedding Saturday within the month of June.”…
READ FULL BLOG POSTMotherhood and Relationality
Modern reproductive technologies have broken maternity into shards: genetic, gestational, social
By John M. Grondelski | May 16th 2023 11:53 AMWith Mother’s Day in the rear view mirror and fresh events crowding the daily “news” cycle, the controversy some retailers generated this year by offering women an “opt out” of Mother’s Day mailings and specials will likely soon be forgotten -- until it returns next year. I’ve tried to showcase…
READ FULL BLOG POSTLife at Misericordia
A village of nine homes, founded by Sr. Rosemary Connolly -- Part 2
By James Thunder | May 8th 2023 11:40 AMIf you were to visit Misericordia, you would first see the impressive physical setting. The grounds are spacious and are beautifully landscaped with shrubs, pine trees, tulip bulbs, a gazebo, and a toboggan hill. The Village consists of nine homes. They are lovely and spacious. Each has six full baths…
READ FULL BLOG POSTThe Church's Sexual Ethics Should Be INTO Diapers
A better expression of Christian sexual ethics starts with teaching them unapologetically
By John M. Grondelski | May 4th 2023 11:37 AMAmong the ambiguities of his Disney appearance, Pope Francis remarked that the Church’s “catechesis on sex is still in diapers.” Various commentators have voiced disappointment or even outrage over that phrase. I take it as a compliment. The Church’s sexual ethics is still in -- more accurately, into -- diapers.…
READ FULL BLOG POSTA Heart of Mercy
Sr. Rosemary Connolly and the residents, staff, volunteers, and benefactors of Chicago’s Misericordia
By James Thunder | May 1st 2023 2:01 PMOn Sunday, May 21, the University of Notre Dame will award its highest honor, the Laetare Medal, to Sister Rosemary Connolly, RSM (Religious Sister of Mercy), age 92. When the announcement was made on Laetare Sunday, it was accompanied by a video (linked at the bottom of this post). Previous…
READ FULL BLOG POSTAbp. Paglia and Questions about 'Accompaniment'
How does a priest accompany a suicide? Confession doesn't cover 'bless me Father, for I will sin'
By John M. Grondelski | April 27th 2023 11:46 AMAfter delivering a muddled set of remarks about assisted suicide which now the Pontifical Academy for Life claims do not mean what most people think they mean, Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia wants us really to believe that he was merely engaging in a thought experiment about how Italian civil law should…
READ FULL BLOG POST'Food for the Crows'
The measure of a society's humanity is what it does to its dead
By John M. Grondelski | April 11th 2023 12:43 PMThe U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Doctrine issued a document in the last days before Easter, “On the Proper Disposition of Bodily Remains.” Its topic was what a Catholic should do with the postmortem remains of a human being. It's timely in this Easter period. The document was…
READ FULL BLOG POSTSent Away Empty
Christ's teaching on riches explains the social decay in Japan
By Barbara Rose | February 20th 2023 6:46 PMThe demise of a nation at the hand of its enemy is comprehensible. The demise of a nation by the aggregated poor choices of its own prosperous people is strange indeed. Christ warns of the pitfalls of wealth, of hearts set on money and not God. He says, in the…
READ FULL BLOG POSTInterview with The Grim Reaper
The hands of the atomic scientists' Doomsday Clock now stand at 90 seconds to midnight
By James Hanink | February 8th 2023 12:19 PMA new cartoon, courtesy of Harry Bliss, shows a fellow chatting with The Grim Reaper. The Reaper, sensitive to the chap’s feelings, tells him not to worry overmuch -- it’s just a preliminary interview. But should we believe Mr. Reaper? Or should we be worried, very worried? The latest report…
READ FULL BLOG POSTA Culture of Life Issue
Two pro-life leaders put forward a pro-natal, pro-family proposal
By Barbara Rose | January 31st 2023 7:30 PMThe cost of an uncomplicated birth, even for parents with employer-provided health insurance, has gotten way out of hand. The situation screams for proposed solutions, and so the leaders of two pro-life organizations have offered one. Catherine Glenn Foster, President & CEO of Americans United for Life, and Kristen Day,…
READ FULL BLOG POSTJoe Scheidler, MLK, & Notre Dame
Fifty years after Roe v. Wade, the nation's leading Catholic college should honor its heroic son
By James Thunder | January 19th 2023 12:53 PMJanuary 22 marks the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision. Soon after it first appeared on the law library’s shelves, I read it and it was a big reason I decided to go to law school. Fifteen years later I became general counsel of the public…
READ FULL BLOG POSTA Lie Mutates
The use of suicide threat as political blackmail spreads to pro-abortion rhetoric
By Barbara Rose | January 18th 2023 7:29 PMThe well-used tactic of transgender activists -- to threaten that confused people will kill themselves if society doesn't indulge their whims -- has mutated and jumped into the rhetorical arsenal of pro-abortion activists. Last month JAMA Psychiatry online (Dec. 28) released a study claiming abortion restrictions probably cause suicide. Thomas…
READ FULL BLOG POST