Matthew Schmitz

In a baccalaureate address at Princeton University, Ben Bernanke reminded his high-achieving audience that the meritocracy is not synonymous with justice : The concept of success leads me to consider so-called meritocracies and their implications. We have been taught that meritocratic institutions . . . . Continue Reading »

Timothy George, the distinguished theologian and leader of Evangelical-Catholic dialogue, is the newest fortnightly web columnist for First Things . His first piece , which contrasts the spiritual outlooks of Pope Francis and Katharine Jefferts Schori, calls on Christians to take seriously . . . . Continue Reading »

The universe is “built in a way that to me suggests intelligent design,” says Stephen King in an interview with NPR : If you say, “Well, OK, I don’t believe in God. There’s no evidence of God,” then you’re missing the stars in the sky and you’re . . . . Continue Reading »

The woman who confronted two men who beheaded a British soldier in London this week credits her Catholic faith with giving her courage : A mother of two who calmly confronted the Woolwich attackers on Wednesday has attributed her courage to her Catholic faith. Ingrid Loyau-Kennet, a practising . . . . Continue Reading »

Trevin Wax subscribes to complementarianism—-the belief that men and women have distinct but complementary roles in society and church—-but thinks its culture prone to certain excesses : a reticence or hesitance to affirm and celebrate women’s contributions in local church . . . . Continue Reading »

The chief prosecutor in Peter Leithart’s recently concluded heresy trial stunned many by converting to Roman Catholicism shortly after bringing his prosecution. Now some are citing his conversion as reason to  declare a mistrial : Three Presbyteries of the Presbyterian Church in America . . . . Continue Reading »

This man  takes the rite of exorcism seriously : A Romanian lawyer is suing his local Orthodox bishop and four priests claiming they failed to properly exorcise flatulent demons that were forcing him out of his home. Madalin Ciculescu, 34, accused the five of fraud after they turned up several . . . . Continue Reading »

The archbishop of Detroit, Allen Vigneron, told the Detroit Free Press on Sunday that Catholics should not receive Communion while advocating gay marriage : For a Catholic to receive holy Communion and still deny the revelation Christ entrusted to the church is to try to say two contradictory . . . . Continue Reading »

In a column published a month before his death, the revered film critic stated his opposition to abortion : My choice is to not support abortion, except in cases of a clear-cut choice between the lives of the mother and child. A child conceived through incest or rape is innocent and deserves the . . . . Continue Reading »

Rachel and Harmony Korine We can get as close as we want so long as we maintain critical distance. This philosophy, primitively grasped, guides the four young women in Harmony Korine’s  Spring Breakers , who skip through frame after frame of booze, bongs, and omnipresent breasts only to . . . . Continue Reading »