Quote Originally Posted by Flying Mullet
The problem then becomes where do you draw the line? What constitutes the requirements for lowering the flag for a world leader? Also, the pope was a figure head of a church, not a world leader.
Vatican City is a country. Any atlas or other geographical reference will attest to this. Thus, he was a world leader in a political sense. Further, as the head of the Catholic Church, he leads a group of people that numbers over one billion worldwide. Given that pronouncements relating to faith and morals made ex Cathedra are to be followed by Catholics, he was certainly something more than a figurehead. Really, if anyone is a world leader, it's the Pope.