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.”

The author of “The Moviegoer” and other distinguished novels was also an occasional book reviewer and commentator for America, and his prose in our pages shone as well.

Robert McWilliams, 41, was found unresponsive early Feb. 4, the Federal Bureau of Prisons said. It is believed that he died by suicide.

“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.”

Peter Forster, 71, is the fourth Anglican bishop to be received into the Catholic faith in less than a year and the fifth to become a Catholic in the past two years.

A Los Angeles nun and school principal who stole more than $800,000 to pay for a gambling habit was sentenced Monday to a year in federal prison.

Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI has written a “mea culpa” in which he asks forgiveness for “the abuses and the errors” that occurred when he held different positions of great responsibility in the church.

Not every word or phrase that pops into your head while you are praying is coming from God. But occasionally, we are free enough that God enters our consciousness with words or phrases that startle in their immediacy.

The alleged papal puppy putdown raised the question: Is there a spiritual component to owning an animal?