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.
Tom GjeltenTrump 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.
Tom GjeltenThe country has already become multicultural. Given immigration trends, it will only grow more diverse, and these new Americans want to share in their country's identity.
Tom GjeltenFidel Castro outlasted U.S. presidents determined to overthrow him, survived the collapse of the communist bloc that sustained him and outlived many of those who wanted to replace him. For those reasons, he will go down in history as among the world's most skillful politicians, even if his achievements largely die with him.
Tom GjeltenThe First Amendment to the Constitution says government can't establish a religion, but neither can it limit the exercise of religion. And that's the issue here. What does it mean to be free to exercise your religion? It's not about what you can believe. It's whether you can act on those beliefs.
Tom Gjelten