The political power of the pope : Consider This from NPR

Pope Francis addresses the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly on September 25, 2015 at United Nations Headquarters in New York City.

Andrew Renneisen/Getty Images

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Andrew Renneisen/Getty Images

Pope Francis addresses the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly on September 25, 2015 at United Nations Headquarters in New York City.

Andrew Renneisen/Getty Images

Unlike any other religious leader around the world, the leader of the world’s one billion Catholics is also the leader of a sovereign nation. And Pope Francis hasn’t been shy about using that political power.

He’s pushed for an end to the wars between Hamas and Israel, and Russia and Ukraine.

And he’s repeatedly tried to point the world’s attention to two ongoing challenges: immigration and climate change.

Much of the world has spent the last two weeks focused on Pope Francis’ health. And the reason why has as much to do with the fact that he’s a powerful geopolitical force as it does with the fact he’s a key religious figure.

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This episode was produced by Tyler Bartlam. It was edited by Courtney Dorning and Eric McDaniel.