Pope Francis has demonstrated his love and concern for all the peoples of the world and especially the United States.

He has collaborated with President Obama on improving the relationship between Cuba and the United States. The Vatican reported that the pope had written to both President Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro about resolving their differences over humanitarian issues, including prisoners.

The Vatican hosted U.S. and Cuban delegations last October, to facilitate constructive dialogue. Normalizing relationships between Cuba and the United States will be a good thing for both countries.

Cuba’s Raul Castro has said “I will go back to praying and go back to church, and I’m not joking.”

How great is that for the Cuban people and the United States as well?

The Pope has made accepting and helping immigrants “a cornerstone” of his papacy, and he has urged wealthy nations to “create jobs and help immigrants gain acceptance.”

Pope Francis has also said “evolution in nature is not inconsistent with the notion of creation, because evolution requires the creation of beings that evolve.” He has also said that there is simply “no justification for the death penalty” and that life in prison is a “hidden death penalty” and solitary confinement a “form of torture.”

At a Vatican conference of Nobel Prize winning scientists and the pope’s key environmental advisers, there was “unanimous agreement that climate change is real, mostly man-made, hardest on the poorest, and a problem that only collective action can solve.”

Ronald Melendy, Auburn