Pope Francis meets with Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu

c. 2013 Religion News Service

VATICAN CITY (RNS) Can the so-called “Francis effect” that has captivated the imagination of the Catholic Church now extend to global politics?

Pope Francis met Monday (Dec. 2) with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a week after a papal summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Starting with vocal statements about Syria, observers say Francis is beginning to raise the political profile of the Vatican to levels not seen since the height of John Paul II’s papacy.