Not being able to tell what truth is or isn't, we deliver our personhood to invisible power in order to avoid suffering for the truth. By LORENZO ALBACETE

President Obama has nominated Ken Hackett – the recently retired president of Catholic Relief Services – as US ambassador to the Holy See. An olive branch to the bishops. By ROCCO PALMO

In this interview, AMMAR WAQQAF, a Syrian political activist living in the UK, talks about the situation in his country, where a possible final victory by Assad cannot be excluded

From a site of violence and heartache as Turkey is becoming these days, a message of hope and peace comes from a mother in Ankara and from her work. By ALLISON SALERNO

Milan Kundera wrote that the portraits painted by Francis Bacon are an exploration into how much distortion a person can undergo and still remain herself. So: Who are you? By SCOTT DODGE