News
Papal Conclave Yields a Holy Bounty of Memes
From comparisons to the US election to speculation about where the smoke really comes from, we’re turning to humor as we contend with a possibly frightening transfer of power.
Catholic Church
Film
The Gleeful Blasphemy and Queer Nun Romance of Benedetta
Beneath the explicit sex and violence of the latest film from Dutch provocateur Paul Verhoeven are thoughtful challenges about gender roles and institutional religion.
Interview
Six Men Try to Heal Their Trauma with Groundbreaking Collaborative Filmmaking
Hyperallergic speaks to director Robert Greene and three survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests about their new film Procession.
Art
Sacred Bones and the Catacomb Saint of Manhattan
Catholic churches in Europe host as many bones as a graveyard, with bits of saints and intact incorrupt bodies encased in glass and displayed on ornate altars.
Art
Another Treasure Lost in Iraq: The Story of Mar Behnam Monastery
Among the most tragic losses of the many antiquities destroyed in Iraq by ISIS has been the destruction of Iraq's seriously understudied medieval architecture.
Opinion
With a New Pope, a New Chance for Openness on Art and History Seems Missed
With Catholicism's long connection with the arts, from Michelangelo making the Sistine Chapel a place of transcendence to the Vatican Museums' huge troves of artifacts and art, it's worth looking at how the incoming pope may feel about contemporary visual culture. Yet while the outgoing Pope Benedic
News
The Legacy of a Conservative Catholic Pope Who Was Surprisingly Open-Minded About Art
As the first Catholic Pope to resign from his position since Gregory XII in the 15th century, Pope Benedict XVI has startled the world with his announcement that he will step down by the end of this month. While controversially conservative (and much less benevolent-appearing than his predecessor th