We don’t trust each other, not really. But somehow, we put our faith in gods and fairy tales—fragile things, shaky things. We sit around waiting for messiahs, Spider-Men, Wonder Women, Batmans—heroes who’ll swoop in and fix our lives. The hero—the archetype of all comics—to save us.

Once a month, I send these pieces to the Pope’s official email, asking for a spot in L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican’s newspaper, to publish them. No response yet—not that I really expect one.