The Pope is, to put it lightly, an influential guy.As the spiritual leader of the world’s millions of Catholics, he wields enormous clout on matters of faith and social practice. When the Pope speaks, an audience that few can rival listens intently. So when the pontiff pontificates on matters of significant political importance, even non-Catholics should perk up their ears.The current pope, Benedict XVI, has made a name for himself doing just that — and his methods for doing so are often extremely subtle.When President Obama visited the Vatican on Friday, there was a great deal of anticipation — many observers were eager to witness how the conflicts of ideology on matters such as abortion and gay rights would manifest themselves.Neither of the men indicated much about what was discussed during the private meeting in the Pope’s library — although their comments made it obvious that abortion was heavily discussed — and their public appearances were nothing short of congenial. But the Bishop of Rome managed to make a silent but powerful statement without saying a word.During a more public meeting, in front of the cameras, Benedict gave Obama an  autographed copy of his most recent encyclical, “Caritas in Veritate.”Upon receiving the lengthy tract, Obama joked that he would have something to read on the plane ride home.The encyclical is Benedict’s analysis of finding truth in charity. In it, he argues that charity is a fundamentally important aspect of the church. Yet he strongly argues that “charity without truth would be more or less interchangeable with a pool of good sentiments, helpful for social cohesion, but of little relevance.”In Benedicts’ mind, charity on any level, individual or social, is wasted if it is not rooted in truth — namely the Catholic system of beliefs.To that end, the encyclical argues that even large-scale governments must be rooted in “truth.”  Part of that truth is maintaining the “social gospel.”In other words, governments only really fulfill their purpose within the context of Christian morals.Although Benedict claims that “The Church does not have any technical solutions to offer and does not claim to interfere in any way in the politics of States,” he certainly isn’t at least giving some strong suggestions.”Caritas in Veritate” is fundamentally a work that deals with applying faith principles to political matters. In fact, after the introduction, it reads suspiciously like a political science essay.  The encyclical contains a lengthy — and intelligent — treatise on highly technical economic theories and strongly condemns much of the capitalist system both morally and practically. It analyzes globalization in relative depth and argues it could become an impediment to social growth. It cautions against the potential for instability caused by deregulation. It proposes theoretical defense for the environment. There are multiple highly complex arguments contained in its pages, too much material to address here — at some points, the reader begins to wonder if Benedict was an international relations professor in an earlier life.The most highly emphasized  and most interesting  argument in the work is a call for international unity, both culturally and politically. Benedict argues that the best solution to pursuing justice on a worldwide scale is a unified political order. He argues cooperation between states is essential to social progress, although he is quick to point out that some amount of independence is necessary.He believes this unity is possible through the United Nations — with a little reform.The argument made in the tract certainly isn’t a new one. If the U.N. were made more open to participation by less prominent member states and given more widely acknowledged authority, many policy makers believe it could achieve significant worldwide reform.Despite Benedict’s early claims to “having no solutions,” “Caritas in Veritate” is an extremely well-thought and well-written treatise that renders significant judgement on society. By handing Obama a copy, the pontiff is tacitly rendering judgement on his policy as well — or, more appropriately, the historical policies of the United States he has so far chosen not to change.Much of what the treatise rails against is practiced heavily by the U.S. The U.S. engineers and maintains a great a deal of the economic policies it criticizes. The country is easily the greatest exporter of globalized trends, and is a major cause of environmental damage. Finally, the U.S. is one of the international political juggernauts that have limited participation by smaller states, especially within the U.N.Although in some cases Benedict’s arguments are rooted in a particular breed of Christianity that obviously does not and cannot impel our national policy, not all of them are religiously motivated — and they are certainly not without merit.Matthew Albright is a 20-year-old mass communication junior from Baton Rouge.—–Contact Matthew Albright at [email protected]