WN: Pope calls for a "global authority" on economy - Reuter

[lekh l'kha]

Do people still listen to the king of Rome? Does he still have that much authority? Seems to me he's become a babbling figurehead with wild ideas. Kinda like a 103 year old grandpa at christmas dinner.

The media still pays a lot of attention to him, and the Vatican is part of Europe geographically, even if it isn't part of the E.U.

But world leaders become all sheepish in his presence. I remember watching George.W.Bush's first meeting with the Pope on T.V. It was the first and last time I ever saw GWB look so sheepish in front of another world leader. He actually had a look of awe in his face (or that's what it looked like to me, anyway).

I think the Pope - any Pope - has the strangest power over world leaders. They don't like to face him after they've passed laws he doesn't like - especially if they know he strongly disapproves.

Aside from that, the Pope would be treated with the same amount of respect any Western leader would be treated. With how much respect is the Pope regarded by world leaders?

I think a great deal of respect.

The question in my mind is: We don't know how many telephone conversations take place between the Vatican and the offices of presidents and prime-ministers that we don't ever get top hear about, and between presidents and presidents/prime-ministers.

We don't know how many telephone conversations (if any) took place beforehand about the Cyclical that was going to be announced to the world media.

Maybe the Pope was asked to do it, for all we know. The leaders of the world know that if they have the backing of the Pope for something they want to do, it's less of a headache to get the public to accept it.

[other one]

Pope John Paul (sorry, I don't recall his number) I would say was most definitely a world leader and had the ear of many people.

I'm not so sure Pope Benedict is holding much sway in anything . . . at least not for now.

Pope John Paul II was very insturmental in triggering the fall of the iron curtain. Malachi Martin's book "Keys of this Blood" goes into great detail the things John Paul was doing behind the news media that gave the people behind the iron curtain the drive to freedom.