Michael Kelly: Soft Power in a World of Hard Men

In a world dominated by powerful politicians, tech billionaires and the race to control artificial intelligence, can moral authority still make a difference? Pope Leo XIV is emerging as an influential voice on some of the defining challenges of our time, from climate change and inequality to the ethical dilemmas posed by AI and the search for peace. With a global audience that extends far beyond the Catholic Church, he raises a compelling question: who gets to shape the future of humanity, and what gives them the right? Michael Kelly, leading Catholic commentator and author of In Christ We Are One: Pope Leo XIV at the Service of Humanity, explores the growing influence of the Papacy in a turbulent, increasingly secular world. Can the Pope challenge those who wield political and economic power? Can spiritual leadership offer an alternative to a world driven by wealth, technology and national self-interest? And what happens when people welcome the Pope’s interventions in public life but have little interest in the faith that inspires them? You don’t have to be religious to be interested in the answers.  

PLEASE NOTE; This event is now being held in The Meeting Room of Clifton Library, this is a change of venue from The Rose Theatre where it was originally scheduled.