The Narthex

“Sex Work,” Trafficking, and Trucks Pamela Paul reports in the New York Times (Aug. 17) that some New York feminists are fighting to get editors to drop the euphemism “sex worker” from their style books. She explains that many have adopted this linguistic stand-in because they don’t want to appear…

There’s no vacation -- etymologically, “empty time” -- in politics. Nor even “holidays,” though our holidays are far removed from true holydays. So, yes, I’m on the campaign trail again. Dianne Feinstein, California’s very senior senator, has reached the tender age of 90 and won’t be running again. Why not,…

Conservative defenders of traditional Christian values often claim that many of the things they perceive as current threats to society -- radical sex education in primary schools, for example, or the notion of gender fluidity -- share a common origin. That they are in fact inspired by Marxism, which is…

"Listen to Him" In both last Sunday's Second Reading (from II Peter) and Gospel, we are exhorted (in the Gospel by no less than God the Father) to "listen to" Jesus. Peter, James, and John "listen" to that message from the bright cloud that overshines Mount Tabor; it would be…

California is a mixed bag, and here’s an example of just how mixed. We have a new Employee Ownership office, a government hub to help companies explore worker-owned models. The American Solidarity Party would applaud this effort. Indeed, its new party platform says: “We support regulatory and tax support to…

"Les extremes se touchent" means the extremes touch each other, they overlap. People say the Church’s teachings about sex and life are extreme, but the truly extreme, truly contradictory response comes from its opponents. That sex can give life and foster a unique spousal relationship is not some esoteric Catholic…

There's a trope out there that orthodox Catholics write out of anger. That's unfair. I offer a short apologia for what usually motivates me to write. Take a piece I just published, on the murder of a 20-something Kentucky school teacher in Washington. The killing took place in broad daylight…

Arizona Governor Undermines Law Enforcement  The New York Times reports that Arizona Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs apparently doesn’t feel any obligation to abide by her constitutional oath faithfully to execute Arizona’s laws. In the wake of Dobbs, Arizona’s legislature enacted protective pro-life legislation that mirrors the Mississippi law upheld in…

Every nation cherishes an image of itself. We are often told that Australia’s was formed on the beaches of Gallipoli, but it’s older and more complex than that. Long before the Australian union, the people of the Australian colonies developed self-images of their own, in great variety. Few directly referred…

On Thursday, May 25, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down an important decision in the case of Tyler v. Hennepin County, Minnesota et al. Bottom line up front: a unanimous Supreme Court swatted down Hennepin County’s property tax collecting policy. I’m commenting on it because there are aspects of the…

Words from Ecclesiastes -- “Be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh” (xii.12) -- must occasionally spring to the mind of those who inflict “opinion pieces” upon innocent readers! But we are engaged in a mostly cold war against those who…

Does democracy need prophets? Yes, especially in a democracy like ours, because ours is in crisis. Distorted by a duopoly lusting for power, our political discourse has become a concatenation of cliches. And most of us seem to sleep through the affairs of state. The prophets we need, to be…

With Mother’s Day in the rear view mirror and fresh events crowding the daily “news” cycle, the controversy some retailers generated this year by offering women an “opt out” of Mother’s Day mailings and specials will likely soon be forgotten -- until it returns next year. I’ve tried to showcase…

Australia faces a possible constitutional change later this year when we shall be asked to approve The Voice, a modification to our foundational document that will not only formally recognize the first occupiers of our continent but establish a special body to represent their interests. Regardless of what position one…

The Tuesday after Easter, preparing to exit the Washington Metro at my usual stop, I waited for the car doors to open. My eye caught something red on the edge of the door, which extended downwards, even to a blotch on the floor. I’m not a biologist, but I think…