RC Register
Diplomat of the Word, Diplomat to the World: Pope Francis’ Role on the Global Stage
Since his election to the throne of Peter almost seven years ago, Pope Francis has worked tirelessly to promote peace in the international arena through many meaningful and unexpected diplomatic initiatives. From his crucial mediating role between the U.S. and Cuba in 2014, to the encounter between Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas he organized in the Vatican garden the same year, or his visit to a refugee camp in Greece in 2016, his actions have left no one indifferent.
In a world that seems to be lacking great political figures, Pope Francis — who created the widely-known concepts of “Piecemeal World War III” and “globalized indifference” and who popularized the rejection of the “throwaway culture” — quickly became a source of inspiration for people around the world, even among unbelievers or people from other religions.
Thanks to Pope Francis’ direct and simple approach, pontifical diplomacy may be finding renewed momentum at a time when the Church seems to be losing influence in almost all the decision-making spheres of global politics. Despite Rome’s perceived isolation on the international stage, the Holy See has paradoxically had the highest number of full bilateral relations in its history, with 183 nations in total, compared to 180 in 2012, and around 20 from the 16th century to the beginning of the 20th century.
Pope Francis’ approach, while definitely innovative in crucial ways, is built on the model provided by his pontifical predecessors and other ambassadors of the Church and also on the Holy See’s historically consistent diplomatic tradition.
‘Expert on Humanity’
In his famous address to the members of the United Nations in 1965, Pope St. Paul VI recalled that the main expertise the Holy See could provide to nations in the diplomatic sphere is the fact that the Church with Christ as its model is an “expert on humanity.” With such a statement, Pope Paul VI also provided an accurate definition of pontifical diplomacy as one that relates to the entire human dimension. Indeed, through diplomacy within its own institutions, the Church has been able to hone its political skills, thereby creating a strong and long-lasting communion between Rome and diocesan bishops in the Western Church as well as between the Western Church and the governing entities of the Eastern Church.
“The Holy See uses the same instruments as traditional diplomacy, but with a different purpose,” Vincenzo Buonomo told the Register. Buonomo is the first lay rector of the Pontifical Lateran University, where he teaches international law, and has written books in the field of international relations, development and human rights. Vatican diplomacy, he said, “is not about conquering power or privileged economic relations, but to guarantee that churches in the different countries can be free; it has also a role of advocacy for important decisions to the world, decisions that are not immediately welcomed in decision-making centers.”
TANIKO Madagascar 