Presidential Candidate Bernie Sanders, who faces an uphill battle with Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton in New York s primary, may get a significant boost of confidence as he s scheduled to visit Vatican City to deliver a speech on the  moral economy  on April 15th.More specifically, according to the Sanders campaign, he will be attending a conference hosted by the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences  on social, economic, and environmental issues,  which falls on the 25th anniversary of the church s Centesimus Annus,  an encyclical from Pope John Paul II aimed at addressing the rights of workers around the world and fair economic treatment.On the same day Pope Francis issued a paper urging priests and leaders to be more accepting of gay men, divorcees and lesbians, the Vatican released their own statement, singling out Sanders: We re delighted to host this conference to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Centesimus Annus, bringing together world leaders, including U.S. Senator Sanders. Bernie Sanders praised His Holiness Pope Francis and the Vatican for the invitation on MSNBC s Morning Joe, saying:I was very moved by the invitation, which just was made public today. I am a big, big fan of the pope. Obviously, there are areas where we disagree, on women s rights and gay rights. But he has played an unbelievable role, an unbelievable role, of injecting a moral consequence into the economy.Whereas the honor of attending the Vatican may be huge for Sanders, the time he ll have to take off from campaigning in New York (four days before the primary) may be detrimental to overtaking Clinton, who is slated to win with a comfortable margin.Bernie Sanders has lauded Pope Francis in the past, calling him  brave,   compassionate,   a very smart man,  and a  leader  on the issues which Sanders has similarly adopted in his presidential campaign. It should come as no surprise the Vatican saw it fit to invite him. Francis  focus on climate change and environmental issues have ignited positive attitudes in weary Catholics and non-Catholics who have grown dismayed with the Church s seemingly obsessive attitudes towards abortion and homosexuality, and embracing the Sanders rhetoric literally and figuratively will only continue to ignite more passion. Photo by William Thomas Cain/Getty Images