Politicians, their staffs and volunteers should reflect our best aspirations as citizens," he said.

The release of the 21 girls was part of a deal brokered by the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Swiss and Nigerian governments.

Jennifer Fulwiler is a lay Catholic writer, speaker and host of a daily radio show on SiriusXM's "The Catholic Channel."

India, one of the top international destinations for couples hoping to hire women as surrogates for pregnancy, is poised to ban the practice in most cases.

Change, however slow, will be welcome when it comes.

The forces arrayed against the education of the girl-child are legion and formidable.