Check out these recent articles from around the web:

Elite Politics by RR Reno: “Thus our current political culture, which is dominated by upper-middle-class concerns even as various political figures protest otherwise. On the Left we have a wide range of views about economic issues, but primary candidates can’t deviate from the dictates of Emily’s List, Planned Parenthood, and the Human Rights Campaign, all of which represent upper-middle-class preoccupations. On the Right we have a wide range of views about social issues, but candidates can’t deviate from tax-cutting dogma, another upper-middle-class issue.”

Pope’s ambassador: US bishops should act warmly toward Catholics, not follow ideology by AP: “The Vatican ambassador to the U.S., addressing American bishops at their first national meeting since Pope Francis was elected, said Monday they should not ‘follow a particular ideology’ and should make Roman Catholics feel more welcome in church.”

Sit down and be quiet: How to practice contemplative meditation by US Catholic: “One day in 1974 Meninger dusted off an old book in the monastery library, a book that would set him and some of his fellow monks on a whole new path. The book was The Cloud of Unknowing, an anonymous 14th-century manual on contemplative meditation.”

The Francis Era: Synthesis or Civil War? by Ross Douthat: “And for my generation of Catholics, wherever our specific sympathies lie, this inheritance of conflict has created a hunger for synthesis – for a way forward that doesn’t compromise Catholic doctrine or Catholic moral teaching or transform the Church into a secular N.G.O. with fancy vestments, but also succeeds in making it clear that the Catholic message is much bigger than the culture war, that theological correctness is not the only test of Christian faith, and that the church is not just an adjunct (or, worse, a needy client, seeking protection) of American right-wing politics.”

Everything You Need To Know About Batkid by Ryan Broderick, Buzzfeed: “Five-year-old Miles spent the day keeping the streets of Gotham/San Francisco safe from ne’er-do-wells.”

Prudence or Cruelty? by Nicholas Kristof: “So slashing food stamp benefits — overwhelmingly for children, the disabled and the elderly — wouldn’t be a sign of prudent fiscal management by Congress. It would be a mark of shortsighted cruelty.”