The Narthex

Jesus once asked His Apostles whether any of them would hand a stone to a child seeking bread (Mt 7:9). I’m worried some of their successors might hand the child neither stone nor bread. In a July 6 interview on Portuguese State Television, cardinal-designate Americo Aguiar, organizer of World Youth…

The significance of the outcome of the Fourth Global Anglican Future Convention (GAFCON IV) held last April in Kigali, Rwanda, is coming into ever sharper relief. That an overwhelming portion of Anglicanism, especially in the “Global South,” has been pushed to the point that it no longer recognizes its communion…

May 18 would have been Karol Wojtyła’s 103rd birthday. In the 18 years since his death, a whole generation has grown up not knowing St. John Paul II. It’s not accidental that there’s a new character assassination effort to stain his reputation and minimize his contributions to the Church. Monika…

Among 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.…

In announcing that non-bishops would be able to vote in this fall’s Synod on Synodality, Rome tried simultaneously to hype and downplay the news. Channeling its inner Leslie Neilsen, the synodal website blandly headlined the change as “Some News for the October 2023 Assembly.” General Relator Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich gave…

Pope Francis has on several occasions voiced support for an idea, percolating among the Vatican’s professional ecumenical and liturgical classes, to establish a “common” date for Easter between Catholics and Orthodox. The current driver seems to be wanting to “do something” to mark the 1,700th anniversary of the First Council…

The triennial “Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions” was held in the Kazakh capital Astana from September 13-15. Unsurprisingly it attracted little attention from mainstream media. A report on the congress and a summary of the concluding declaration can be found at the Asia Times website (Sept. 26;…

What’s wrong with the world? Chesterton famously asked this and also confessed that he himself was a major part of the problem. In light of his meeting with President Biden, I ask myself what’s wrong with Pope Francis? I’ve asked that question before with regard to his muddled treatment of…

Recently New York’s Timothy Cardinal Dolan, in discussing the synodal process, spoke of seven “non negotiables.” Jesus, he said, intends each of them. One is that "mercy, love, invitation, humility, joy, selfless generous service, and good example are our only tools, never harshness, condemnation, or pride.” Sadly, we sometimes obscure…

David, now a seminary professor and the father of a large family, was among the very best of my students. He introduced our family to what Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI would later term the Extraordinary Rite. My wife and I were already receptive. We had grown up with the Latin…

In order to appreciate what's at stake in the current Church-wide controversy surrounding restrictions on the traditional Latin Mass (TLM), data on Latin Mass attendees is key. A post at LitugyGuy.com, a blog by Fr. Donald Kloster of Norwalk, Connecticut, shows results of a unique national survey of Latin Mass-goers…

Everyone -- whether priest, bishop, or layperson -- has ideas on how to change the liturgy. If I had my druthers, I would make the following changes, but these changes are neither mine to make nor a priest's to make: the congregation would kneel for the penitential moments of the…

The Novus Ordo brought a number of reforms besides celebrating in the vernacular. In his Apostolic Constitution of 1969, Pope St. Paul VI approvingly referred to Pius XII’s restoration in 1951 and 1955 of the Easter Vigil and the Rite of Holy Week, respectively. He also cited the desire of…

Given the news cycle, the document Human Fraternity—issued by Pope Francis and Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar—has used up its 15 minutes of fame. But let’s ignore that secular cycle. The Grand Imam speaks on behalf of a major Muslim center of learning. Pope Francis needs no introduction.…

Recently someone asked me, “what would be the first thing you would do if you were suddenly elected Pope?”  Although it was only a thought experiment, coming up with a single, first act was difficult.  The weight of spiritually fathering billions of people must be both daunting and crushing.  Ultimately…