Francis is the first pope to tour the Venice Biennale. May he be the last. A good deal of sugar has been spun from the unexamined conceit that art—Art—is a moral pill to treat social problems. A trademark of upper-middle and upper-upper class groupthink, it was in high relief on Sunday, April 28. That day […]

Cecilia’s Funeral & Theology of the Beaten Dog

Maureen Mullarkey

March 25, 2024

We wake up every day to signs of a civilization in free fall. Cratering with it is the moral authority of the Roman Church under the captaincy of Pope Francis. One signal in particular stands out: last month’s funeral circus at St. Patrick’s Cathedral for transgender activist, prostitute, and sex-worker advocate, Cecilia Gentili. The […]

Fernandez & Pizzaballa: Soft Porn v. Hardcore

Maureen Mullarkey

January 15, 2024

In every age, the levers of power are worked with equal ambition by Church and state. Members of both assemblies inhabit the moral imagination of their time; both breathe the same compromised air. Self-justified worthies gerrymander realities without apology. They confer high awards on finesse in dissembling. Language obfuscates; clarity is penalized. Two contemporary parallels […]

Pro-Palestinian Zealotry & Betrayal of The West

Maureen Mullarkey

December 28, 2023

The West is betrayed by its own children. Since October 7, what we have seen in our streets and on campuses—the pro-Palestinian zealotry—is betrayal by those who are themselves the products of Western civilization. And have been schooled in its morbid addiction to cultural guilt. No one comes to Studio Matters for political discussion. There […]

What Child Is This?

Maureen Mullarkey

December 14, 2023

What Child is this who, laid to rest, On Mary’s lap is sleeping? Whom angels greet with anthems sweet, While shepherds watch are keeping? (William C. Dix, 1865) This Advent, following the October 7th massacre of Israelis, calls us to remember that the Child we wait for is a Jewish child. He was born of […]

The Descent of Michael Matt

Maureen Mullarkey

November 30, 2023

Has Michael Matt, self-selected exemplar of authentic Catholicism, become a casualty of self-regard? He presents himself as a Braveheart gathering the clans—that chosen Catholic remnant—for progress toward a resurgent Christendom. But the illusion draws on a mottled identity that does little justice to historic reality or contemporary history. And none to the house of Israel […]