My neighbors lost homes because our political and economic institutions have failed to respond to a crisis they have long known was coming.

The temptation is to fight the ghosts of Modernism by denigrating those working for social justice and “elites” as anti-religious co-conspirators. But this would be a disservice to the truth and to the church.

In mid-January, a law firm is scheduled to publish a report into the handling of clerical sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising, where Pope Benedict XVI was archbishop.

In a video message released by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, Pope Francis offered his prayer intention for the month of January, which he dedicated to people who suffer from religious discrimination and persecution.

“All the prices are ridiculously high,” said Manuel Jeremías Ake, a father of six in California. “We were struggling to buy what we could afford. But now, forget about it. I’ve never seen anything like this in this country.”

If it depends on supporting the fake meat industry, vegetarianism is not a superior ethical or moral stance. But there is an alternative in the “ideal kind of farm” described by Pope John XXIII.