Pope Francis has a similar ambition to shape history. He wants to steer it away from what he’s called the “globalization of indifference” to the poor, refugees, and other victims of a “throw-away culture”, and he wants to end a Third World War he believes is being fought today in “piece-meal” fashion.

As the State Department confronts a number of global challenges ranging from extremism in the Middle East and Russian aggression in Eastern Europe, a surprising provision in the White House’s newly unveiled budget proposal for Foggy Bottom would boost funding for Central America, where a mass migration of unaccompanied minors to the southern United States has exposed profound societal problems in the region.