Given the deep hostility to Obama in the Republican Party, and given the tea party revolt, it’s doubtful that any Republican would have found it easy to deliver.
The American media have discovered that a Catholic church exists beyond the sex abuse and financial scandals. But as others have said: The church is not the pope.
As important as hearing Francis’s words will be paying close attention to whom he chooses to visit while he’s here. In his value system, the last really are first.
According to Catholic discipline, there is only one kind of person who can offer anointing of the sick: a priest. But there aren’t enough priests to go around.
We should take in refugees because it's the right thing to do, because it’s in keeping with who we say we are, and because we remain a nation that can afford it.