In what has become something of a tradition, the archbishops of the two cities that will face off in next week’s Super Bowl have placed a wager on the game.

“Life is a right, not death, which must be welcomed, not administered,” Pope Francis said during his weekly audience. “And this ethical principle applies to, concerns everyone, not just Christians or believers.”

“Each individual case of sexual abuse is appalling and irreparable,” Pope Benedict wrote. “The victims of sexual abuse have my deepest sympathy, and I feel great sorrow for each individual case.”

“That’s one of the reasons why I didn’t go to live in the papal apartment, because the popes before me were saints and I couldn’t do it—I’m not so much a saint,” the pope said on Feb. 6 during a primetime Italian talk show.

Recovering the history of black Catholics is an important challenge for all black Americans and for their churches.

Pope Francis, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar and President Biden issued statements emphasizing the need to recognize that all people are brothers and sisters and are called to live together as such to achieve peace.

In “The Deep Places,” Ross Douthat relates how an experience of illness and suffering can lead to a search for answers to more transcendent questions, including the meaning of suffering and the gift of perseverance.

Bishop George L. Thomas said he would not ask priests to police the Communion line but asked pro-choice politicians to voluntarily “refrain from the reception of Holy Communion while holding public office.”

My little family is living proof of the fact that change is possible. My grandparents went from fury to admiration of my parents’ love, and from shame to pride in their mixed race grandchildren.