Many cardinals have had books written about them, but few have become the fictionalized heroes of best-selling novels. Cardinal Francis J. Spellman, archbishop of New York from 1939 to 1967, was one — possibly the only one.

On a recent vacation, I read Victor Hugo’s “Les Misérables.”

Hugo was truly a poet and philosopher. “Les Misérables” became one of his most popular works through its musical presentation on Broadway and later as a film. It tells various stories about life with distinct and complicated moral issues that need resolution.

I have a question about appeals to Rome of the declaration of nullity process. The metropolitan tribunal of my local archdiocese has completed their review of the case and stated that it has been proved that there is sufficient ground to find the marriage invalid (“decision in the affirmative”).

The last thing a Jewish academic like myself with no grounding in Christian theology should want to do at this particular time is to weigh in on the attacks against Pope Leo XIV by President Trump, Vice President Vance, Speaker Johnson and others.

When President Donald Trump criticized Pope Leo XIV on Truth Social on April 12, he sidestepped the substance of the pope’s message.

Because my Lent took a nosedive about two-thirds of the way through, I am still immersed in a project I undertook in order to get my spiritual groove back: Writing out the Gospel of Mark, in longhand.

When Seminarian Andrew Chase was assigned to St. Joseph’s in Cockeysville, he learned he would be responsible for the donuts and coffee after Mass.

To President Franklin Roosevelt, he was the “Happy Warrior.” To suspicious Protestants, he was a pawn of the pope. Amid such conflicting views as these, the remarkable political career of Al Smith was forged.

Although the General Instruction of the Roman Missal does go on to give some minor variations of this exchange, it never lists any other communicants’ responses besides “amen,” nor does it envision or provide for alternative responses as a possibility.

Catholics will always be loyalty suspects in the United States of America. We love our country, but we will not (and should not) put it before Christ or his Church or the successors to his apostles.