Oct 17, 2014 4 min read

Excerpts from recent editorials in newspapers in the United States as compiled by the Associated Press:

The United States seems to be suffering from extreme exposure to Ebola – not to the virus itself but to the viral speculation about the danger it poses to Americans. It’s time to calm down.

Ebola is an intrinsically frightening disease. It’s a terrible way to die, and that naturally heightens fears about contracting the disease. But so far, only one person has died of the disease in the United States, a man who traveled here from Liberia after contracting Ebola in his home country.

The number could rise. Several Americans have been exposed to the disease and are under close watch by health authorities. But all indications are that the United States is fully equipped to treat those who get Ebola and stop the spread of the disease before it becomes anything close to an epidemic.

If Americans want to prevent Ebola from coming here, the best way to do that is to help battle the disease at its epicenter in west Africa. The three countries where the epidemic is raging have almost no chance of stopping the spread of the disease without outside help.

We need to be concerned about Ebola but not simply about the possibility that it might immigrate to the United States. It is both a humanitarian and strategic priority to help Africa contain and halt this epidemic and to help save the lives of tens of thousands of vulnerable people there.

Pay attention to this moment. This week alone stands as proud evidence of Western Civilization’s inevitable march toward freedom and equality. Collectively, we have resisted, fought, even slipped backward at times. But eventually, we are always shown that our faith in the rights of all men is not unfounded.

The New York Times reported Monday that “an assembly of Roman Catholic bishops convened by Pope Francis at the Vatican released a preliminary document on Monday calling for the church to welcome and accept gay people.”

In addition to urging acceptance of unmarried couples and those who have been divorced, the document says that gay people have “gifts and qualities to offer to the Christian community,” and acknowledges that gay couples can give each other “mutual aid to the point of sacrifice” and “precious support in the life of the partners.”

This is a monumental indication that one of the most ancient, important and stalwart institutions in the world is moving in the philosophical course set forth by Pope Francis, which ultimately, is the foundational message of Jesus Christ.

Regardless of what faith you subscribe to, this shift under Pope Francis is hugely symbolic. These are ideas that would not have even been discussed in the Catholic Church 10 years ago. And while this single assembly won’t officially set church doctrine, it’s proof that even the buttressed fortifications of the Vatican are not impenetrable to the sweeping winds of equality.

The Nobel Peace Prizes recently awarded to a 17-year-old Pakistani girl and an Indian man should inspire the leaders of their countries to end their decades-long, dangerous struggle over Kashmir.

Violence between Pakistan and India along the disputed Kashmiri border has escalated lately into the worst fighting between the nuclear-armed countries in more than a decade, causing U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to say he “deplores the loss of lives and the displacement of civilians on both sides.”

Such statements are fine, but action is more important.

The future of Kashmir should have been the focus of international diplomacy long before now, but over and over this matter has tended to get shoved off the radar screen. The result has been a simmering conflict, disrupting the lives of Kashmiris and providing opportunities for extremists to make trouble.

There are battles in many places in the world, but this one contains the seeds of global catastrophe and must be settled.