The Narthex

Words mean something. Sadly, their overuse leaves them captive to clichés. Thus captive, they can be enlisted in all manner of nonsense. Two examples come to mind: accompaniment and discernment. Note that both of them have become suspiciously “churchy.” Let’s start with accompaniment. Rightly used, it means “being with” another…

Life is a mystery to live, not a problem to solve. And metaphysics is rich in mystery! Here’s a contrast. Science often advances by resolution and replacement. For example, Galileo resolves Ptolemy’s puzzles, and heliocentrism emerges. Einstein resolves Newton’s puzzles, and the theory of relativity replaces classical physics. Closer to…

Good politics calls for building bridges and forming coalitions. The American Solidarity Party gets it. Here in California, as elsewhere, the powerbrokers, whether Democrat or Republican, have a vested interest in blocking new parties from getting ballot access. The “duopoly” has an effective strategy for shoring up the status quo.…

A new cartoon, courtesy of Harry Bliss, shows a fellow chatting with The Grim Reaper. The Reaper, sensitive to the chap’s feelings, tells him not to worry overmuch -- it’s just a preliminary interview. But should we believe Mr. Reaper? Or should we be worried, very worried? The latest report…

A Civil Rights activist turned thug named H. Rap Brown was right. “Violence,” he said, “is as American as cherry pie.” Violence is also pluriform, and it includes the violence we do to language when we turn that violence on ourselves. Here’s an example. Last week in Atlanta police shot…

A friend just authored an important paper on why religious freedom is a human right. I agree that it is, and I applaud the range and rigor of his analysis. He’ll catch a lot of flak, though. Not everyone thinks that religion is for the good, much less that it…

Felix, my youngest grandson, has aged out of Sesame Street. Since leaving, though, he calls himself “The Count.” Of late he’s busy counting his Legos. Trump, keen to remain POTUS, wanted more votes to count. No luck. Of late he’s counting the legal actions he faces. For better or worse,…

Last month the L.A. Times ran a piece titled "New law targets crisis pregnancy centers in L.A." (Nov. 3, B3). It served up a noxious mix: a bloated press release for Mike Feuer, the city attorney, and more lousy journalism from the Times. To wit: the writers don't bother to cite any crisis…

Under the direction of the United Auto Workers, 48,000 “academic workers,” chiefly researchers and graduate students, at the University of California are on strike—the largest such job action in history. It even includes the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, whose task is to “mind” and “develop” the country’s nuclear arsenal. The…

Make way for the memes! How many have you seen today? In an election season, they’re more plentiful than autumn leaves. Just what are they and where are they from? Are they friend or foe? Broadly considered, a meme is an idea or behavior that is widely imitated; it spreads…

Roberto Dell’Oro, a Californian bioethicist at Loyola Marymount University, recently proposed a compromise on abortion law. Since he is a member of the Pontifical Academy for Life, his proposal is attracting wide interest in Catholic circles. Dell’Oro is no friend of the Supreme Court’s recent Dobbs decision. He chiefly objects…

People matter first, and that’s always and everywhere true. So I begin with a thumbnail sketch of my neighbor, Alex Padilla. He’s an affable fellow. Gregarious. Even avuncular. Alex is a family man with three adult children. Padilla also holds a key post as a Special Investigator with the Los…

I like “Ike,” as I’ll call him. He was a catalyst for the pre-synod “listening session” that my seminary friends of yesteryear recently held. For my part I only “listened in” on the session. Then I offered a critique here, in a blog post. Ike didn’t much like what he…

A read of the German synod documents reminds me that revisionists are keener on erasing than on building. But no one invited me. I did get invited to a mini-synod session by classmates from the minor seminary that I attended for six years. What led to the mini-synod was an…

Who me? Lament my lifestyle? No, I don’t even know what it is. But I do lament and bemoan the overuse of the word lifestyle. That is, if it has any worthy use at all. Why do I take umbrage? Of course, there’s a place for style. I wish there…