Pope Francis surely is a shepherd with the responsibility to guide his flock through history. He has the world’s ear – many are straining to hear him clearly…

In the dark days after the planes hit, the late political theorist Jean Bethke Elshtain mused to a friend, “Now we are reminded of what governments are for.” Sept. 11, she forever after insisted, made plain that “the primary responsibility of government is to provide for basic security – ordinary civic peace.” This responsibility is a divine mandate