So, there were two interesting headlines yesterday. First, we’ve got Pope Leo XIV touring Turkey to honor the ancient roots of Christianity. On the other, we’ve got an Afghan evacuee — supposedly a vetted U.S. “ally” — allegedly ambushing National Guardsmen near the White House. If that combination doesn’t describe the moment we’re living in, I don’t know what does.

Let’s start with the pope.

Pope Leo XIV showing up in Turkey to commemorate the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea makes for a powerful visual. He’s walking where early Christians walked, honoring the creed that helped shape the faith, and reminding the world that Christianity didn’t begin with cathedrals, incense, or theological instruction manuals thicker than a phone book. But as someone who takes Scripture seriously, I can’t help but notice the gap between the simple faith of the early Church and the mountain range of man-made traditions the Catholic Church has piled on since. Jesus didn’t mince words about that: “In vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:9).

Still, Pope Leo’s trip has symbolic value. Middle Eastern Christians are dwindling, and a high-profile spotlight doesn’t hurt. If he uses his platform to encourage persecuted believers rather than reinforce layers of ritual that Jesus never asked for, great.

But while the pope is taking a pilgrimage to the birthplace of Christian doctrine, America is dealing with the consequences of doctrine-free immigration policy.

The shooting near the White House — allegedly carried out by an Afghan evacuee who previously worked with the CIA — is a sobering reminder of something Washington keeps pretending not to know: compassion does not cancel the need for common sense. You can love your neighbor without handing him the keys to your house and telling him to lock up when he leaves. Even the Bible’s full of walls, gates, and guards, because people back then understood something we keep forgetting: not everyone who approaches your borders does so with good intentions.

Both political parties helped create the mess. Democrats pushed for rapid resettlement; Republicans in years past trusted foreign “partners” a little too blindly. Now we have to deal with the fallout because Washington can’t seem to grasp the balance between mercy and security. The Bible says government is supposed to be “a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil” (Romans 13:4), but that’s a little hard to do when your policies help the evil walk right through the front gate.

At the same time, genuine allies — the ones who really did help America — deserve fair treatment and responsible processing. But responsible processing is the keyword. Vetting should be a brick wall, not a screen door.

So here we are: a pope looking backward to the foundational truths of the faith, and an America that badly needs to look backward to its own foundational principles: secure borders, personal responsibility, moral clarity, and the courage to call things what they are.

If we’re going to learn anything from Nicaea, Afghanistan, or the latest headlines, it ought to be this: truth matters, discernment matters, and ignoring reality always costs someone dearly. Whether it’s believers in the Middle East or Guardsmen in D.C., the price is too high.

In a chaotic world, we’d do well to return to the basics in our faith, in our national security, and in our leadership. And hey, if we manage that, we might just start seeing some wins again. And believe me, at this point, America could use a few.