The Rising Power of Rome

This week was an awkward one for the Catholic Church. In a show of power, the US Conference of Bishops voted overwhelmingly to deny communion to the nation’s second Catholic president, Joe Biden, due to his support of abortion, and in another embarrassment, hundreds of unmarked graves were discovered in Canada at residential schools that were run by the Church. These events are part of a bigger picture showing the unprecedented influence of the Roman Church over the world's most powerful nations.