The Pope’s Soft-Power Push
Pope Francis will use his upcoming high-level visits to the U.S. and UN to press the concerns of the poor and marginalized, says expert Kenneth Himes.
The first visit of Pope Francis to the United States features highly anticipated speeches to a joint session of the U.S. Congress, a papal first, and to the UN General Assembly. The pope will use these occasions and other stops along his trip to speak out on behalf of populations at risk due to war, economic hardship, or climate change, says Kenneth Himes, an expert on Catholic social teaching at Boston College. “He wants to get the face of the poor before most Americans, and not just Americans,” says Himes. “He wants to make sure that we don’t assess society, we don’t assess global order, from the perspective of those at the center of it.”
