You Get The Art You Pay For: Where Have All the Catholic Artists Gone? (Pt. 1)

Last updated on: May 18, 2018 at 5:40 pm By Emily C. A. Snyder

“Why are so many artists progressives?” my dear friends who blog under Darwin Catholic asked a while ago. Adding the usual follow-up question: “Where have all the Catholic artists gone?” It’s a good question, and one that’s brought up every few months or so, along with the corollary question of: “So, what is Catholic art anyway?” Mr. Darwin’s question spurred a lengthy and fruitful Facebook thread, with several Catholic non-artists postulating a lot about What Sort Of Person would become... Read more

Sacrilege or Sartorial? The Met Gala

Last updated on: May 9, 2018 at 2:18 am By Emily C. A. Snyder

Annually, the glittering elite of Hollywood gather in New York City for their own private themed Halloween extravaganza that we call the Met Gala. The event, ostensibly a party thrown to celebrate a new exhibit, is more obviously remarkable for the competing costumes on display: lavish, outrageous, impractical, and loads of fun. For those who hate red carpets and find Angelina Jolie’s Oscar-worthy leg a source of downright sin – well, get your pearls ready for the clutching because the... Read more

HOT TAKE – Avengers: Infinity War

Last updated on: May 1, 2018 at 9:55 pm By Emily C. A. Snyder

Warning: So many spoilers. For the whole MCU. Probably. If you were thinking about beginning your Marvel movie watching with Avengers: Infinity War, allow me to say: don’t. It would be akin to watching a certain crock pot episode of This Is Us without context. Or the end of season 5 of Buffy without knowing what came before. Or, well, being that person who walks into the living room right at the end of the movie and starts asking questions.... Read more

Compliance is NOT Consent

Last updated on: April 30, 2018 at 3:47 pm By Emily C. A. Snyder

I did not consent to my first kiss. I complied. You can read the comical take on it here, but the gist of the story is that I was cast in a kissing role my senior year of high school. Now, I was eager to kiss in general, and was even eager to kiss in the context of the play… But I was not expecting to suddenly, embarrassingly, and publicly be told one day to give away my first kiss... Read more

HOT TAKE: Should I See The Handmaid’s Tale?

Last updated on: April 27, 2018 at 6:45 pm By Emily C. A. Snyder

Caution: Contains light spoilers. Last year, Hulu premiered the multiple Emmy-award winning series, The Handmaid’s Tale, based on the Margaret Atwood novel of the same name. This week, The Handmaid’s Tale returns for a second season, expanding the world of the future dystopia with advice from the author. By now, you’ve heard from your friends how great, how harrowing, how intense the show is. And it’s Friday night, and everyone else is out watching Captain America beat up the latest... Read more

I Hate Franciscan!

Last updated on: April 26, 2018 at 3:23 pm By Emily C. A. Snyder

Or at least, that’s what many people heard when they read an article last week in the National Catholic Reporter – whom many faithful consider the “wrong NCR” – about mismanagement of Title IX sexual misconduct complaints at Franciscan University of Steubenville. “You can’t trust that left-leaning, Soros-funded nonsense!” people cried. “It’s a pack of lies.” Which suddenly reminded me of another time I’d heard that line of reasoning. Almost twenty years ago. In Boston. Spotlight on Boston As... Read more

THROUGH CHILDREN’S EYES: Watching The Greatest Showman

Last updated on: April 21, 2018 at 3:38 pm By Guest Contributor

Warning: Contains spoilers Read “The Greatest Showman and The Other Woman“ Welcome my sister, Julie Kersting of Artist Ave as our guest contributor and rebuttle writer for The Greatest Showman. While I took issue with some of its historocity, my sister saw a different film. Now with the release of the movie musical on Blu-Ray and DVD, my sister had the fun of showing her kids the movie that went along with the music. To her delight, the themes of... Read more

WHAT’S Going on at FUS and Christendom? A Quick Timeline of #MeToo

Last updated on: April 19, 2018 at 10:41 pm By Emily C. A. Snyder

ACTION ITEM: Now you can read and sign a petition to FUS administration here. Wondering what all the hoopla about Franciscan University of Steubenville and Christendom College is about? Here’s a helpful timeline for you to follow the events. Timeline of Events – Updated 19 April, 2018 October 5-10, 2017 – #MeToo starts with the revelations from The New Yorker and The New York Times about Weinstein’s sexual predation. Women (and men) are emboldened to speak out about harassment and... Read more

What DO They Teach Them At Those Schools? Sexual Scandal At Catholic Universities

Last updated on: April 19, 2018 at 3:08 pm By Emily C. A. Snyder

ACTION ITEM: Now you can read and sign a petition to FUS administration here. Stupid articles require snarky rebuttals. Proceeding yesterday’s article from the National Catholic Reporter about Franciscan University of Steubenville’s (FUS) failure to support student victims of sexual assault, FUS professor and associate director of FUS-housed Veritas Center for Ethics in Public Life, Dr. Stephen M. Krason had already laid out the toxic ideologies that help perpetuate victimizing women in Catholic arenas. I had the pleasure of pulling apart... Read more

Sexual Assault and The Failure of Catholic Schools

Last updated on: April 19, 2018 at 3:06 pm By Emily C. A. Snyder

ACTION ITEM: Now you can read and sign a petition to FUS administration here. Today, an article came out from the National Catholic Reporter (NCR) by Jenn Morson, detailing the ways that my alma mater, Franciscan University of Steubenville (FUS) has systematically failed to support student victims of sexual assault. This news comes on the heels of the report out of Christendom College, revealing horror stories of how women were sexually abused while at school, and then not supported by... Read more