Picture of Mario Alexis Portella

Mario Alexis Portella

Mario Alexis Portella is Archdiocesan Chancellor of Florence and a Minor Canon of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore and Adjunct Professor of Canon Law at St. Phillip Neri Seminary in Gricigliano, Italy. He has a doctorate in canon law and civil law from the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome; he also holds an MA in Medieval History from Fordham University, as well as a BA in Government & Politics from St. John’s University. He is author of 'Islam: Religion of Peace?: The Violation of Natural Rights and Western Cover Up' and 'Ethiopian and Eritrean Monasticism: The Spiritual and Cultural Heritage of Two Nations'.
Institutional misogyny is one of the pillars of Iran’s Islamic theocracy—as is in the rest of the Islamic world where the sharia has precedence.
Marriage is the mutual commitment of a man and a woman with the intention to accept the unity and indissolubility of the spouses, with the end of procreating and properly
The claim by politicians that our outward actions do not have to reflect our conscience because they are afraid of ‘imposing’ beliefs on others—which they do not—is sanctimonious. In fact,
Iranians, however, must continue protesting, knowing that never before in its history has the Islamic regime been so vulnerable. As it happened in the Soviet Union, citizens’ dissidence in Iran
Hobbes refuted traditional higher law tenets and motivated people to accept the established laws and customs of their nations, even if they appear oppressive, for it is the only way
If the West and the Vatican came together and publicly condemn the Islamic Republic of Iran for its crimes, it would not just be in the interest of Iranian citizens
As a result of the discrimination by the Israeli authorities and because of Islamic oppression, the socio-cultural and spiritual connections that are the backbone of Palestinian Christians’ collective identity have
Evidence indicates that the UK has become more polarised when it comes to people’s positions on salient issues. Great Britain is also witnessing a fragmentation of political support and ‘affective
Islamic scholars and activists who insist that Islam is a religion of peace go so far as to compare the crusades to, if not equate with, the jihad carried out
Xi has been ruthless in his ten-year rule of China, curbing personal freedoms such as free speech and freedom of religion, arresting anyone who raised their voice against his authoritarian