The timing of so many sensational American crime stories packed together – Jodi Arias, Ariel Castro, Kermit Gosnell – were a news cycle boon that gave President Obama some precious time to prepare for a fast approaching storm of scandals while the media and public attention were focused elsewhere.

Pope Francis celebrated his first canonizations in the course of his Mass in St. Peter's Square last Sunday, giving the Catholic Church over 800 new saints. All but two (a Colombian nun and a Mexican nun) were the "martyrs of Otranto," who were beheaded for their faith after Turkish Muslims invaded their southern-Italian port city in 1480

Not even Barack Obama can defy the laws of physics. It all began with Benghazi.

For those of us who seek to be disciples of Jesus, our obligation is clear: It is to love Kermit Gosnell and pray for him.

When you think back on your life, how many of you had visions of being a superhero who brought justice? We want to be on the right side of good, but then as we age our vision goes from the ideal to what is really born into us, to something else, usually because we're subjected to life here on Earth. There are losses. We get hurt.

Military officials appear to be in sandbag mode telling the media that the recent revelations about policies that would lead to the prosecution of military members for sharing their faith was all taken out of context.

The national news media haven't discovered it, but the issue that is bringing out hundreds of citizens who never before attended political meetings is Common Core. More precisely, it is the attempt of Barack Obama's Department of Education to force all states and schools to adopt specified national education standards for each grade level that will dictate what all kids learn and don't learn.

It's cap-and-gown time for graduates and advice flies at them from every quarter. For many of these young people in transition, it's the first time they "get" the important connection between economics and their lives. Why? Many will soon pay their way, pay taxes, and live on a budget for the first time.

They say there are only two sure things in life: death and taxes. Try as we might, it's virtually impossible to escape the clutches of the Grim Reaper or the Tax Man. Both will get you eventually.

It's easy to talk about "unity within the church" as long as we're talking in the abstract. However, what do you do when a Christian brother or sister offends you or sins against you? Do you "write them off" and go your separate ways? I submit this is often the easier choice, but Jesus and the standards of his kingdom rule do not permit us to do so.