The Narthex

Once upon a time, people distinguished between morals and manners. One shouldn’t offend either, but violating the former is a lot more serious than infringing on the latter. People instinctively recognize sleeping with your neighbor’s wife is in a qualitatively different ethical league than eating your main course with a…

Once upon a time, not too long ago, June used to be associated with marriage. People spoke of “June weddings.” But while Stevie Wonder might have just been calling to say “I love you,” there was something prescient in his lyric about “no wedding Saturday within the month of June.”…

My eldest son, John Zygmunt, graduated college last month with a double major. I’m proud of him and happily joined his commencement exercises at George Mason University (GMU) in Fairfax, Virginia. GMU, one of the largest public universities in the Commonwealth, proudly boasted that this year’s 11,000 undergrad and grad…

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…

Over the past few years, a number of academic brouhahas has drawn me into checking what professors tweet. Almost all of it is ugly. Within two or three tweets the online exchanges between Professor A and Professor B, or between Professor A and Concerned Citizen B, have devolved into wild…

Men and women are not biologically equal in function and physique. But the extreme liberal camp has promoted that baseless notion, insisting the sexes are interchangeable. Women are not physiologically built like men, as the task of raising the young requires specific biological and…

A few weeks ago I was completing the online registration forms for our local Little League. I grabbed my laptop, had my calendar, insurance information, doctor’s address, and a cup of coffee. Despite my preparation, I didn’t get far before being totally shocked. They wanted my child’s name, date…

Houdini was the master of illusion in the 1920s. Like today’s David Copperfield -- the highest paid solo performer in history -- Houdini mystified rapt audiences with incredible death-defying acts. As a youth he worked his card tricks and vanishing acts in dime circuses. After training as a locksmith he…

Loose lips sink ships! When Nazi submarines preyed on Atlantic convoys, security measures took on new urgency. Gossip could lead to disaster. Today loose language, though not an impending disaster, is a debilitating phenomenon. I suggest that we “call it out.” When it comes to monitoring language, there is an…

Many Catholics have pondered whether the Church benefits from the work of public intellectual and author Jordan B. Peterson (who has recently been quieted by a prolonged health crisis). Peterson’s book 12 Rules for Life, which counsels the young on living a meaningful life, had sold three million copies by…

The assassination of President John F. Kennedy is a day most everyone over 70 can recall. It was as if that latent American dream for a Camelot regime died with him. His witty political adroitness, savvy speeches, and New England accent hinted of royalty. Those talents lent an aura to…

Negative portrayals of the Church by the mainstream media are a given, but lately the Associated Press and The New York Times have dealt a few dirty blows. New York’s Cardinal Dolan recently responded to a story in the Associated Press about Catholic organizations and entities receiving relief funds from…

The Pew Research Center has recently issued new data on the decline of Christianity in the U.S., a decline they say "continues at a rapid pace." Below is a link to the Pew survey results. A few highlights: - 65% of American adults now describe themselves as Christians, while those…

As the spiritual influence of the Church has waned in the West, it has created a spiritual void in the lives of many people.  Devoid of religion, the people still desire to be “spiritual but not religious.”  Nature abhors a vacuum, so this void is being filled by a great…

During their summer meeting, the Democratic National Committee drafted a set of resolutions in which they voice an inclusive stance toward the growing demographic of the “religiously unaffiliated.”  These resolutions clearly have a deeper meaning than just inclusivity; they aim to attack Christian values in our society. Before continuing, I'll…