The Narthex

Dressing to the Zeroes Once upon a time, being “dressed to the nines” meant being dressed to perfection, with distinction. It was expected in public, including many places today’s Americans would no longer expect. When I went to college in the late 1970s, my primary way home was by airplane:…

Much of Pope Francis’s February 10 letter to the Catholic bishops in the United States centered on its subject: immigration. I focused on that in my first take, which addressed how to define “dignity,” what were the letter’s potential long-term implications, and how ordo amoris could be understood in ways…

Romanian Rain on Francis’s Common Easter Parade Pope Francis’s idea of launching a “common Easter” hit a road block when the Orthodox Patriarch of Romania voiced objections. His primary objection was exactly the condition Vatican II set 61 years ago in the long-dormant appendix to Sacronsanctum Concilium that Francis wants…

Welcome to today’s episode of “As the Holydays Turn.” When last we tuned in, the Catholic bishops of the United States were in a quandary. In 2024, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception on December 8 fell on a Sunday. According to the norms of the liturgical calendar, when a…

Recently Pope Francis repeated an idea he has been floating for some time: setting a common date for Easter. Catholics and Eastern Orthodox mark Easter on different dates because the Orthodox use a different calendar (the Julian, which is 13 days out-of-sync from the sun) and formula to fix Easter.…

On the feast of St. Stephen, the first martyr, Pope Francis went to Rome’s Rebibbia Prison to open the holy door he established there. In his subsequent Angelus address (linked below), Francis focused on “martyrs” and those “persecuted.” And while he did not make an explicit connection to his prison…

Church and State in Paris If you followed the news, you’d have the impression that the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris was primarily a backdrop for a political event at which President-Elect Donald Trump reconnected with world leaders. And you might not be wrong. The Archdiocese of Paris…

Imagine a scenario where Jesus and his modern disciples set out for the villages of Caesarea Philippi. Along the way he asks his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" They say in reply, "Allah, others Brahma or Buddha, still others Confucius or one of the ethical teachers." And…

Last Friday’s tone-deaf remarks by Vatican Communications Dicastery Prefect Paolo Ruffini saying he saw no reason not to continue using the art of ex-Jesuit sex abuser Marko Rupnik on Vatican products has drawn two distinct responses. Most of the Catholic press has ignored the story -- not only nothing to…

Catholic World Report carries an article about Paolo Ruffini, the Prefect of the Dicastery for Communications, who recently made a spirited defense of the Vatican’s ongoing use of Marko Rupnik’s art. His apologia came in remarks to press at the Catholic Media Conference in Atlanta June 21. According to the…

Most Sundays, the Church prescribes one Gospel to be read. This Sunday, the priest has a choice of two. That’s because, while the Sunday Gospels normally rotate over three years, there is an exception on the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Sundays of Lent. Lent is the season during which catechumens…

“The lady doth protest too much, methinks” is a Shakespeare line about a Hamlet character whose overacting makes one believe she is hellbent on concealing the truth of things. That line comes to mind on reading a featured editorial at Vatican News (Feb. 27): “Fiducia supplicans: Non-Liturgical blessings and Pope…

Of giving interviews, as with making books, there is no end. But interviews, whether in the air or on earth, are easier on trees. Even so, provocatively important interviews can lead to books. Here’s an example. Vatican News recently excerpted an interview that Pope Francis gave to Italian newspaper La…

On January 10, Pope Francis met with DIALOP, a group of "European leftist politicians and academics that seeks to bridge Catholic social teaching and Marxist theory.” The Pope encouraged “dialogue” with Marxism. “European leftist politicians and academics” can theorize over cappuccino and croissants about what Moscow has in common with…

Many Americans were rightfully repulsed when they watched students on American college campuses openly declaring their support for Hamas terrorists that killed over 1,400 people and took and still hold hundreds of hostages. It’s ongoing: On October 24, somebody projected pro-Hamas slogans -- including “Glory to Our Martyrs!” -- onto…