The Narthex

San Francisco was recently dubbed the "Poop Capital of America" due to the high number of poop complaints reported in 2017. Local channel KRON reports that while dogs play a part, at issue is the number of homeless people defecating in streets and parks. Could "privy demons" be a reason why down-and-outers…

A character in Dostoevsky’s The Idiot, tempted to despair, asks an intriguing question. Will beauty save the world? There are a couple of reasons to answer “not likely.” Here’s a first reason. Since there are sharply differing accounts of the nature of beauty, it probably isn’t any one thing. But…

Does the Synod of Bishops on Young People, running this month in Rome, strike anyone else as same-old same-old? The Church continues to come across as bureaucratic and uninspiring. Aside from some free trips to Rome for some motivated young people, it's hard to see how a train of meetings…

Student protests have become routine, such that nobody takes them seriously anymore. So now, the adults are getting involved — as they did with last April’s walkouts for gun control — approving and supporting their charges’ acts of “defiance” — which really don’t defy anything if everybody is on board…

Historical caricatures to the contrary, Martin Luther did not, at least initially, intend for the Protestant Revolution to happen.  Even a cursory glance at his 95 Theses shows them to be far from revolutionary (assuming papal authority, validity of indulgences, etc.) and more like propositions for debate.  The debate however…

The Roman Empire depended entirely on its slave culture. Back then, Spartacus, a former Thracian soldier who had deserted, was captured and enslaved. After being forced to perform as a gladiator, he rebelled. He was eventually followed by 70,000 slaves to the mountain caves near Vesuvius. The Empire, threatened after…

Hummingbirds are wonderful creatures. Happily, their range is expanding. Studies show this expansion! Of course, we often read of studies that reach less welcome conclusions. Studies have shown that fish oil does little to lower cholesterol; they’ve shown that aspirin doesn’t reduce heart attacks. New studies cast doubt on the…

During the persecution of Catholics in Elizabethan England, Jesuit priests pretending to be family relatives or tutors hid in specially constructed ‘priest holes’ to avoid royal prosecutors. Surprise inspections and raids of family homes were not uncommon and if a priest was found, he would face torture and execution. Today,…

Pandemonium broke loose last Saturday night as the highly anticipated UFC 229 battle between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov spilled out of the octagon and a virtual riot ensued.  This is not the first time something like this has happened, although when even Mike Tyson calls a “fight riot” crazy it…

"When we see news clips of a shark swimming near a beach, it scares us into not going near that beach," says Liz Weinandy, a registered dietitian at Ohio State University's Wexner Medical Center. But "what we should be scared of is double cheeseburgers, french fries and large amounts of…

Let’s start with good blockers. Alpha-blockers and beta-blockers play a strategic role in reducing high blood pressure and even some cardiac problems. They’re health-defenders. Next up? Something seasonal: Fall’s the season for football blockers, especially welcome as goal-defenders. What about bad blockers? They’re a motley crew of offenders. Enter name-droppers…

When Alexis de Tocqueville came to America in the 1830s he was struck by just how faithful Americans were to their “self-evident” credo that “all men are created equal.”  He was overwhelmed by the preponderance of what he called the “equality of conditions.”  Americans loved equality, so much so that…

Legatus, a group of Catholic business leaders, announced it is withholding an $850,000 tithe to the Vatican until it gets adequate answers to questions raised by financial and sex-abuse scandals in the Church. Without stating as much, the group is acknowledging the presence of present-day "temple prostitutes" and is acting toward…

“Don’t mess with Texas!” Right, probably a mistake. There’s no doubt, though, that it’s folly to cross Mother Nature. And Father Time? Why, he chronicles the history of our lives. Surely, then, Henry Ford’s famous “History is bunk!” is nonsense—on stilts.  Isn’t it history that decides our worth and measures…

Many a cardinal and bishop has praised lay involvement in the Church. One wonders if involvement by ex-FBI agents is what some didn't have in mind? A group of American laymen called Better Church Governance (BCG) is launching a new initiative to assess cardinals’ records on combatting abuse and corruption,…