Check out these recent articles from around the web:

Do Politicians Love Kids? by Nicholas Kristof: “So if politicians are genuinely looking for a bipartisan issue to break through the Washington gridlock, here’s a suggestion: invest in early education.”

N.J.’s consideration of legalizing assisted suicide needs deeper study by Charles Camosy: “In a youth-worshiping and capitalist culture, older people are pushed to the margins, understood as a drain or burden on their families and society. Hardly surprising, then, that older people would feel ‘tired of life’ and seek a way out. But it is diabolical to respond to this unjust situation by making it easier for vulnerable people on the margins to kill themselves. We must instead absolutely affirm the goodness of their existence.”

Five myths about Pope Francis by Maryann Cusimano Love: “The first pope from the Americas will make his first visit to the United States next year, to Philadelphia for the World Meeting of Families. Before millions of U.S. Catholics greet the man who seems to be revolutionizing their faith, let’s clear up some misconceptions about the new pontiff’s beliefs and impact.”

Are Czechs giving up on moral responsibility? by Carl Gershman: “That sense of moral responsibility for others led Havel, until his death in 2011, to be one of the world’s leading advocates for human rights. While his support for nonviolent opponents of dictatorship such as the Dalai Lama, Liu Xiaobo, Aung San Suu Kyi and Oswaldo Payá was unqualified and deeply felt, it was never based on purely humanitarian concerns. He believed that people such as himself, who had experienced Communist totalitarianism firsthand, had a special responsibility to warn the affluent West about the dangers of appeasement, and he felt that a “politics where economic interests are put above basic political values are not only immoral, they are suicidal.” In his last years, he applied this thinking especially to Russia and China.”

In Praise of Adoption by Timothy O’Malley: “Adoption, for both child and parent, introduces a particular form of life that is radically sacramental in its particularity. It reveals to us God’s plan for humanity, for creation itself, as adopted into a love that we can only imagine. Adoption, biological childbirth, and spiritual paternity or maternity together reveal a full image of what constitutes entrance into the family of God.”

Pope Francis challenges the faithful by Michael Gerson: “Perhaps Francis is destined to be a divisive force within his church and an inspiration outside it (a theory that may be tested during his upcoming U.S. visit). But I am inclined to defend his influence with all the zeal of a non-convert. While popes may or may not be infallible, this one is marvelously wise and human.”

How Tunisia Will Succeed by Rachid Ghannouchi: “The fundamental choice facing the citizens living through this tumultuous period in Tunisia, Egypt, Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Libya is not between Islamism and secularism, but between democracy and despotism.”

Cardinal O’Malley: If I started a church, I’d love to have women priests by Teresa Hanafin: “Catholics who thought Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley’s remarks about Kansas City Bishop Robert Finn’s suitability for office were provocative have another interesting comment to ponder: If he were to start a church, he would ‘love to have women priests.’”

Surprised by Solidarity by David Lapp: “But in the middle of that suburban scene, I eventually found something surprising: deep belonging and solidarity in community—the kind of belonging and solidarity that I’ve come to believe is essential to close America’s deepening class divides and to help working-class young adults to achieve their aspirations for stable family.”

Photos: Pope meets with autistic children at the Vatican: “Pope Francis tenderly embraced children with autism spectrum disorders, some of whom avoided meeting his gaze, during an audience Saturday aimed at offering solidarity to people living with the condition.”