John Boehner was the subject of the 2019 America Profile (“A Conversation With Former House Speaker John Boehner,” 12/9/19). The cover story generated a fair amount of feedback, much of it expressing a longing for bipartisanship in the public square.

The values that have guided this country through more than 200 years should not be and cannot be up for debate, Matt Malone, S.J., writes in his 'Of Many Things' column.

"The wounds of the Islamic State have not been healed yet, together with the ongoing violence, poverty, unemployment and poor services that have pushed thousands of people, especially youth, to demonstrate peacefully, demanding the right to live with dignity and freedom in a stable, secure and strong independent homeland," Cardinal Louis Sako, patriarch of Chaldean Catholics, said of anti-government protests.

"In reality, Congress has been slow to pass legislation," said Anthony Granado, vice president for public policy for Catholic Charities USA.

Parochial schools in the city are not immune to the homeless crisis, Michael J. Deegan, the superintendent of schools for the Archdiocese of New York, confirmed. “We do have some families that are homeless, and in partnering with Catholic Charities of New York, we work with the families in trying to find accommodations for them.”

Being courtside at a presidential candidate debate sounds thrilling, but it turns out that you don’t get a great view of all the candidates. While I can see Biden’s head, I cannot see the body to which it is attached, and from my angle Senator Elizabeth Warren is just a left arm. Worse, Mayor Pete Buttigieg is a haunting disembodied voice.