That’s the question I pose, and try to answer, in this essay at PoliticsDaily:

But what is clear, whether one reads every word or just excerpts, is that the pope is a liberal, at least in American political terms. He says this is not a document proposing “technical solutions,” and stresses the greed and sin at the heart of the current economic crisis. Yet he rigorously and consistently applies the Golden Rule to economics and finance, calling for greater regulation of the markets and — get this — “a true world political authority” that can put “real teeth” into international governance.

Not even the purportedly “socialist” Barack Obama, who will meet with Benedict on Friday for the first time at the Vatican, would imagine going that far.