Summoning memories of a time when the good folks won, cleanly and against all the odds, is the singular accomplishment of a splendid new documentary, “Liberating a Continent: John Paul II and the Fall of Communism.”

The term “elitist” has been bandied about so promiscuously in this election cycle that it’s become virtually content-free. Yet “elitist” is also being weaponized as a scare-word to prevent legitimate criticism of ideas, attitudes and behaviors. That kind of bullying is bad news for an already degraded political culture.

Cardinal Robert Sarah is one of the adornments of the Catholic Church. He accepted episcopal ordination knowing that he might well be killed for his witness to Christ.

If Catholics in the U.S. are going to be healers of our wounded culture, we’re going to have to learn to see the world through lenses ground by biblical faith. That form of depth perception only comes from an immersion in the Bible itself.

The Catholic love affair with the United States of America is heading into rough and uncharted waters – not only in this 2016 election cycle, but also for the foreseeable future.

DURING TALKS AROUND the country in recent years, I’ve been asking Catholic audiences how many of those present know the date of their baptism. The high-end response is a little under 10 percent. The average is about 2-3 percent.

The announcement that Archbishop Christoph Pierre will succeed Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò as apostolic nuncio to the U.S. is an opportunity to pay tribute to a courageous churchman who has served Catholicism, Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis in an exemplary way during his tenure in Washington.