The Narthex

“That was rude.” So said the love of my life and not for the first time. She was addressing me! It was, sad to say, a fairly familiar accusation. And yet we should hold fast to the legal maxim that the accused is innocent until proven guilty. As is a…

In 2008, while I waited in traffic, I heard a horn beep and looked to see a "thumbs up" by a young driver. She was praising the sticker posted on my rear window: One Man, One Woman for Life. That was when Proposition 8, banning all homosexual marriages, was approved…

Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh recently spoke at a local pro-life fundraising event, and afterward he was criticized in the usual quarters. But instead of retreating from the subject of abortion, he decided to elaborate on his stance in an interview with ESPN. In the interview he says he tells…

The Dawson Centre’s recent Colloquium, the big event of our year, lived up to our expectations and indeed soared beyond: all presentations were well and evenly matched in their force and relevance. One of our guests said, "Just the one day was more stimulating than my entire undergraduate degree!" Putting…

The number seven seems to have special status, as seen in mathematics, engineering science, natural history, psychology, and elsewhere. Our civilization counts seven continents, seven seas, seven wonders of the ancient world, and seven heavens. Western musical scales are composed of seven distinct notes that Pythagoras (c. 500 BC) studied…

Perhaps you heard the Church of England is mulling its definition of woman. A leading figure in the C of E, Rt. Rev. Robert Innes, reports that “There is no official definition, which reflects the fact that until fairly recently definitions of this kind were thought to be self-evident, as…

Among global leaders, only the Pope has repeatedly called for de-escalation in Ukraine. A quick scan of the front pages of major American news websites -- Fox News, CNN, MSNBC -- today shows almost no mention at all of the ongoing conflict (only CNN has a link to "live updates"…

The 13th-century invention of the mechanical clock dramatically changed the pace of civilization. "There are few greater revolutions in human experience," historian Daniel Boorstin writes, "than this movement from the seasonal or 'temporary' hour to the equal hour. Here was man's declaration of independence from the sun, a new proof…

I had recently finished reading Father Ian Ker’s biography of Cardinal John Henry Newman (who was beatified in 2010 and canonized in 2019) when a review in the Wall Street Journal of a book on the existence and nature of God by a professor of law at Yale caught my…

The latest group to protest faceless and heartless technocratic control is Dutch farmers. According to Joe Barnes at The Age (July 10), huge protests are sweeping the Netherlands "triggered by the introduction of laws designed to cut nitrogen and ammonia emissions by up to 95 percent" in the agricultural sector.…

Opinions abound about the Supreme Court’s Dobbs ruling. Here in California, highly publicized protests feature women carrying signs that read, “Abortion on Demand, without Apology.” Nothing new, only more frantic and furious. On my view, Dobbs is a decent first step. But its own reasoning doesn’t allow for the next…

Many saints, performers of wondrous deeds, fortified themselves with silent, prayerful contemplation of infinite Truth -- all in their small, simple cells. Researchers and scientists like the famous inventors Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla also embraced privation, risk, and sacrifice. Much like the saints, they demonstrated the great faith that…

Recently the Christopher Dawson Centre for Cultural Studies hosted Greg Sheridan, Foreign Editor of The Australian newspaper, who spoke to a capacity crowd on Christianity's Contribution to Western Civilization. Greg is a good friend to the Dawson Centre; he has visited on earlier occasions and always deservedly draws a large audience,…

As of today, thirteen U.S. states have banned or widely restricted abortion after the Supreme Court's ruling on Dobbs. Tennessee, the thirteenth, has a six-week "heartbeat" ban and next month may see a trigger-law ban go into effect that protects the unborn starting at conception. LifeNews.com's Steven Ertelt offers a…

What to do about one’s pet peeves? As a peevish person, it’s a question I often face. Maybe I’m too peeved to pursue my current culprits. I have two of them. Consider the now ubiquitous “inappropriate.” Does coach swear a blue streak? That’s inappropriate, says the principal. Do Mike and…