As far as "soverign state" is concerned, it is a mythical realm with even less credibility than Camelot.
Our church has a long history, and into our day, of elevating myth to dogma. Somewhere within that spectrum is reality. That reality seems to be irrelevant as convenient. Does it all of a sudden attain to a reality which, like Gulliver's "state in the sky" will disappear when Burke disappears?
Whatever Pope Francis does I do hope that he does it within the realm of reality that demonstrate that the church is on earth as well as in the minds and wills of its Managers.