As Cuba's leader, Castro answered to no one and allowed no challenge to his authority.

In some states, it is illegal to turn down a same-sex couple when you're placing children for adoption. That's discrimination. But in the Catholic church, the sacrament of marriage is defined officially as the union of a man and a woman. So a Catholic adoption agency is torn between its faith doctrine and what it sees as a faith obligation to help orphans.

Donald Trump seems to prefer people he sees as being on his side.

And the pressure to clarify what exactly is happening to Christians and other minorities in the Middle East is certain to intensify in the New Year.

Trump has always talked about how important in dealing with foreign leaders, how important it is to establish a good personal relationship very close to what Pope Francis says, so they may both really want to emphasize their development of a personal relationship.

Administration officials, in fact, have repeatedly condemned ISIS for its treatment of religious minorities, including Christians. But a bipartisan resolution now moving through Congress calls on the administration to go further and say ISIS is guilty of genocide.

America is or should be about inclusion. Immigrants like muslims don't and can't fit the white European mold that prevailed in this country 50 years ago.