Dr. Rowan Williams, the former archbishop of Canterbury, reminisces about the personal encounters and official meetings he had with Pope Benedict XVI while they were leading their respective faith communities.

“Whether it be directed towards people of color, immigrants, Jews, Muslims, hatred is never acceptable,” said the archbishop of Washington and Catholic co-chair of the National Council of Synagogues consultation for the U.S.C.C.B.

“Any case like this is very painful, [but].... we have not hidden anything,” says Arturo Sosa, S.J., the superior general of the Society of Jesus.

“Even if you leave the ordination question aside for a moment, there is still a great need to explore ways of engaging women in all other levels of the life of the church in significant roles. There is still a lot of work to be done.”

“Jerusalem, especially the Old City with its shrines holy to Muslims, Jews and Christians, is like a powder keg waiting to explode! However, until it does explode, many prefer to simply ignore it.”

Israelis will go to the polls on Nov. 1 for the fifth time in less than four years. Will the elections bring any significant change in this divided country, or offer any hope for a resolution to the more than 70-year-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict?