Matthew Schmitz

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 »

Academy-Award-winning actor Jeremy Irons raised questions about same-sex marriage in an interview yesterday with HuffPostLive. “Could a father not marry his son?” asked Irons. “Well, there are laws against incest,” said the host. “It’s not incest between . . . . Continue Reading »

A new play written by a Russian Orthodox priest depicts Harry Potter discovering he has been baptized and then battling Voldemort with the help of Saint Cyprianus : Harry rushes to see Dumbledore, who tells him to find “the one who created everything”, as he’s the only power that can . . . . Continue Reading »

” Throughout, the cardinal was the very picture of tranquility .” Richard John Neuhaus and Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, 1988. Read Ratzinger’s lecture on behalf of the Institute on Religion and Public life here . . . . . Continue Reading »

When Pope John XXIII was asked, “How many people work in the Vatican?” his response was, “About half.” via reddit . . . . Continue Reading »

“We will appeal. We’re fighting it. This is not dead. This is a place where religion destroyed American lives.” -American Atheists’ President Dave Silverman protesting a ruling allowing the display of the “9/11 cross” via @yair_rosenberg . . . . Continue Reading »

Google’s decision to display the visage of Cesar Chavez on Easter Sunday has provoked immediate fury from many corners. The decision indeed is difficult to justify. Yet Google’s odd choice should remind us that whatever one thinks of Chavez’s politics, they are impossible to . . . . Continue Reading »