Cardinal Parolin: The Vatican diplomacy is increasingly in the service of peace

Alessandro Jesotti

A new season is opened for the Diplomacy of the Holy See. It was opened by Pope Francis with the publication of one of the officials who officially punished the renewal of the Pontifical Church Academy, a institution established more than three centuries ago and has always had a function to prepare papal diplomats. The Cardinal Foreign Minister, Petro Parolin, who is also the protector of the Pontifical Church Academy, spoke to the Vatican media about the most prominent aspects of this reform. He hopes that the Vatican diplomacy will work with courage and creativity – as the Pope requires more and more in the service of dialogue between peoples and cultures.

The papal ecclesiastical academy was established more than three hundred years ago. However, its purposes remain the same …

Yes, more than three centuries of its institution, the papal ecclesiastical academy continues to form a diplomatic, which is the vigilant and clear appearance of the Khalifa Peter on the Church and the world, committed to representing the Pope with a missionary spirit that does not know limits. They are not only involved in international discussions, but are called to interpretation and proposal, in line with the Christian vision of the Church, the solutions that can contribute to building a more just and brotherly world.

Pope Francis has always been interested in those who participate in the Vatican diplomacy. What are the main qualities that the Holy Father considers to have a good diplomat from the Holy See?

During his meetings with permanent Apostolic Nuncios and observers, Pope Francis often described papal diplomats as “priests with bags in his hand”, which confirms the pastoral, promising and global nature of his service. It is the exact spirit of missionary service that prompted the Pope to reorganize the course of the formation of these priests, with the intention of enhancing their preparation and adaptation to contemporary challenges. It is a decision that represents a new chapter in the history of papal diplomacy.

Here we enter the heart of reform. What are the most important developments? What is the spirit that encourages the Pope’s decision?

With reform, the academy was organized as a higher educational institute and diplomatic scientific research, in line with the innovative vision proposed by the Apostolic Constitution The right of truth And with international standards for university studies, especially with the “Bologna process”, which has achieved coordination of various European higher education systems. From now on, the papal ecclesiastical academy will be able to grant academic degrees of degree (equivalent to a master’s degree) and the doctor (doctorate), as it provides for its students a training that merges legal, political and economic specializations, and of course a specific knowledge of diplomatic sciences. Through an updated vision of university paths and research, it is a return to the roots, to the foundations of this institution that lived many events in history, and it is often not easy on the headquarters of Pedro. Despite the tribulations of events, the academy remained the place of training in the service of potatoes.

In Chirographer, the Pope confirms that renewal is not limited to a purely technical approach …

certainly. In fact, teaching programs will be closely related to ecclesiastical specialties, so that the preparation of priests from priests to the diplomatic field is accompanied by the Church’s dimension and develops with the way to work in Roman Korea, preaching and missionary work of the Church. As well as the relationship between the church and society, as well as dialogue with contemporary culture, which is essential elements of the Vatican diplomacy, which works as a spokesman for the Christian message in international forums. This is also the reason – although the academy is an organic part of the Minister of Foreign Affairs – will participate in many pillars in Romanian in the formation and bodies of the academy.

This repair had a long load. Is it possible to say that the Pope now broadens the horizon of the diplomatic work of the Holy See?

Pope Francis, with this “health realism” that distinguishes his pastoral work, is not limited to a proposal to reform for the diplomatic formation based only on the acquisition of theoretical knowledge, but he seeks to prepare that responds to the needs of a world in a continuous development. In Chirographer, the Pope notes that “it is not sufficient to be limited to the acquisition of theoretical knowledge, but it is necessary to develop a way of working and a lifestyle that allows it to understand the dynamics of international relations deeply.” Therefore, the composition should be directed to understanding the concrete challenges facing an increasing Senodal church. In this perspective, the Pope emphasizes the indispensable qualities of those who are called to represent the Apostolic headquarters in international forums: rapprochement, awake listening, testimony, brotherly perspective and dialogue. And again, courage and creativity. These features should be accompanied by humility and mastery, which constitute the essence of the priestly task. Such virtues are the spirit of diplomatic work that aims at the public good, peace and promotion of religious freedom.

Given the war in Ukraine, the Gaza war and many forgotten wars, unfortunately, diplomacy and pluralism seem no longer the value and strength that they had in the past. How is the reform to be proportional to the international context that we are in?

The Holy Father reminds us that only through careful discrimination and manual monitoring of the changing reality always, it is possible to understand global events and suggest concrete actions. Therefore, the papal diplomat is not only an expert in negotiating techniques, but also a witness of faith, committed to overcoming cultural, political and ideological barriers, and in building bridges of peace and justice. This approach allows the Church to develop concrete paths for peace, for the religious freedom of every believer and the arrangement between nations, taking into account the mission of Christ and the good of all humanity. On this renewed horizon, the papal ecclesiastical academy becomes not only the center of excellence in diplomatic sciences, but also in a group of coaches who were called to implement the diplomacy of the Apostolic Chair, in a manner that reflects the heart of the Bible: dialogue, reconciliation and peace.

What is expected for this reform, which can be defined as a real new season of the Holy See Diplomacy?

Through reform, Pope Francis wants to update the graphic diplomacy approach to the challenges of the contemporary world, as it responds to the needs of an increasingly globalized diplomatic environment. Reform aims to enhance the relationship between research and academic training for papal diplomats in the future and the specific challenges they will face in their duties abroad. I hope that expert diplomats will be formed only, but the priests who are familiar with the global task of the Church, can respond with efficiency, sensitivity and evangelical spirit to global challenges, who see the Pope of diplomacy as a tool for peace, justice and solidarity between white conditions.