The Pope’s State Address: A Message by a Head of State or a Religious Leader?

Through the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, Francis has institutional authority over the leaders and their congregations, from Cardinals through to parish priests, monastics, and the laity. [...] The Pope’s Tour, Soft Power, and Charisma Joseph Nye’s theory of soft power, which speaks about the ways a state may influence the public of other nations by a kind of attraction, is pertinent for understanding how the Vatican acts. [...] The State Address in Singapore In the State Address, the Pope sat next to Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, the latter delivering an address first. [...] Positive parts of his message framed the critique, so the Straits Times is not entirely wrong to headline their report on the Address with the words that Francis “commends Singapore’s inclusiveness, efforts to support the vulnerable”. [...] But to properly grasp this event in its full meaning, the nature of the Pope as a hybrid actor whose main concerns align with Catholic social teachings, including the marginal and oppressed, as well as a focus on the common good of all people, must be born in mind.