THE POPE'S VISIT

There's a lot of chatter about this already. The Chronicle of Higher Education had interviews with significant figures in Catholic higher education this week, including conservatives and moderates. Former senator Rick Santorum wrote an op-ed for yesterday's Philadelphia Inquirer that took a very conservative position on today's Catholic colleges.

Will Pope Benedict be the scold or the pastor? Most say the pastor offering encouragement and seeking the support of American Catholic colleges and universities. His only official meeting on this trip is with the presidents of the Catholic schools.

We will watch his visit with great interest. It has been several years since the promulgation of Pope John Paul II's Ex corde ecclesiae, and much has changed.