Prague, Czech Republic, Sep 25, 2009 / 03:39 am
Just days ahead of Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the Czech Republic, Vatican analyst John Allen is saying in an essay for the Prague Post that the papacy’s social and political influence is one of the most unique and far-reaching in the world today. From the fall of communism to Western-Muslim relations to the AIDS crisis, he says, the Pope is a key international player.
Describing the Catholic Church in “purely empirical, sociological terms,” Allen likens the Catholic Church to a “lone superpower” whose involvement is necessary to address almost any global crisis. The world’s approximately 1.2 billion Catholics are in every “nook and cranny” in the planet and are especially strong in Africa.
The Church’s structure and clear lines of authority make it the “most vertically integrated,” while the Holy See’s diplomatic corps has relations with 177 nations and has observer status with every major international organization, he notes.
“No global leader makes a trip to Italy without calling on the Pope, and usually that meeting draws far greater interest than a similar session with the Italian prime minister,” Allen writes, adding that the Pope is the most-quoted religious leader in the world.