to that of secular leaders, enviably straightforward. He is absolute ruler of a tiny sovereign state with a vast spiritual diaspora. His judgment is believed by the faithful (or some of them, at any rate) to be not only supreme, but infallible. Where the job starts to get more complicated is in times of global crisis, when popes are expected to provide moral leadership, not just to fellow Catholics but to the whole world. When that expectation comes into conflict with the narrower interests of the church, popes frequently fluff their lines.