For all the hoopla about the two mighty men who visited the United States last week and met with President Barack Obama, the most intriguing meeting amidst all this Washington summitry — the one between Pope Francis and Xi Jinping — never happened.
No one has to regret that more than these two men themselves.
There aren't two leaders on Earth today who face such similar challenges in running their two organizations. The Vatican and the Chinese Communist Party are both faith-based enterprises whose doctrines increasingly collide with societal realities.