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The Men in Skirts. Both leaders have been on a "charm offensive" and been seeking photo opportunities and providing unusual access to journalists.
Recently, these two -- King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and Pope Benedict -- met in Vatican City. Both are at the apex of their respective "establishments" which are, not to put a fine point on it, dominated by men who oppress and condemn women to second-class status.
There could not  be a better photograph to symbolize the convergence of such political and religious power which has perpetuated the world's single biggest socio-economic problem: the disenfranchisement of females in most countries.
The Gender Gap
The widespread practice of denying women education, business participation and political influence is economically ruinous. It means that half the world's, or a nation's or an ethnic group's IQ is relegated to child-bearing and child-rearing. It means that there are too many mouths to feed, clothe and educate with the end result that the little girls, who survive being murdered in the womb or at birth by parents who want sons, are often condemned to dreadful lives of servitude and illiteracy.
Make no mistake: There is a correlation between female literacy and social or economic wealth.
Religious Gender Intolerance
The strictest interpretation of Roman Catholicism is that married women cannot chose to avoid having children and cannot leave a marriage, even to an abusive husband.
In Latin America, wife-beating is rampant and divorce frowned upon. Ignorance and poverty are also prevalent and both are the result of excessive pro-creation encouraged by church teachings.
Some writers and leaders in South America have begun to speak out against this dreadful state of affairs. The mistreatment of women, partly religious and partly cultural, is one of the reasons why South America is being left behind.
The Rich and The Backward
The Middle East and other Islamic cultures are worse. In Saudi Arabia privileged women live in harems and have too many children. Some Saudi Princes have dozens of offspring in a region, and world, where many starve due to over-population. It is immoral.
For instance, Pakistan may have a female politician who is a former Prime Minister, but the country has a terrible gender track record as does India and Afghanistan. Ten years ago, only 22% of women in Pakistan were literate compared with 49% of men. Improvement has been minimal in cities and non-existent in rural regions.
China has lifted living standards by educating females, promoting them economically and rationing reproduction rights. Tragically, many parents opt for sons, which is why there are fewer females there, but those who survive have a better life than did their mothers.
China has, along with other enlightened countries in the west and Asia, demonstrated the benefits of gender equality. There is a strict correlation between the educational level of women in a society and its GDP growth.
Rampant and Destructive Chauvinism
Even so, ignorant men who rule most countries and religions mistreat their womenfolk, thus shooting their own societies and the world in the foot.
(Photo: Osservatore Romano/AFP/Getty Images)
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