General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Pope will address Congress - Sack cartoon [View all]MADem
(135,425 posts)Muslims? Nope. Sure, the King of Saudi Arabia has the title "Guardian of the Holy Places" but that doesn't incline a shi'a to listen to him on matters of specific doctrine. Jews? Nope. From reform to orthodox, they're entirely variable. Baptists? Lutherans? Methodists? Nope--there are a couple of flavors of all of those those. Mormons--eh, maybe, but they have a "crew" that makes decisions in a business-like way.
He's not the leader of "a" church, he's the leader of ALL the Catholic churches--from Cuba to China, from Brazil to Botswana, from Albania to Azerbaijan. His reach is truly global.
Hell, even the liturgical non-Roman Catholics acknowledge this guy. The Anglicans and Episcopalians give him a nod, even though they don't regard him as infallible.
Like it or not, he's recognized. And if he's recognized, he's not "deceiving" anyone. They know what he is, what his role is, and how he exercises his authority. No one is being hornswaggled. You can pipe up, certainly, and write your Senators and your representatives and demand that they strip him of his diplomatic status, and demand, too, that our UN rep call for the same at the next General Assembly, but I suspect that your earnest gripe and five bucks will get you some burnt coffee at Starbucks.
His 'power' has to do with his influence across nations. Other religions don't seem able to do this with any authority or unity. Their religious leaders follow the "All politics is local" paradigm, as opposed to trying to compete with a "universal church" theme.
You can like it or not like it, but it is what it is. As long as there are a lot of people in the world who affiliate in some fashion with the Roman Catholics, either directly or aspirationally, he will continue to hold that power.