Pope Francis enraptured both big and small crowds, leaving them both laughing and crying, be they the U.S. Congress or the tens of thousands that saw him in Philadelphia. Through it all, the pope seemed to just be himself, at least the self that we have become accustomed to seeing.

The pope’s visit struck cords in Africa on a number of levels. Some of the thorniest political debates in the United States are also difficult ones in Africa.

As talented a player as he was, what he’ll be most remembered for is the infectiousness of his joy.

Pope Francis comes to the United States this week, and that means lots of hours of TV news coverage, often about things that many members of the mainstream media wouldn’t know that much about.

The mounting refugee problem in Europe—often seen as a result of the Syrian war—has attracted the attention of the world’s media. But there is another, often forgotten, dimension to the crisis which has been on going for a number of years: the political instability in North Africa, Eritrea specifically.

I believe both faith and politics are better served by the honesty and anguish of Joe Biden than by the cynicism and glibness of Donald Trump.