What if I told you that the Pope, beyond his shepherding on how his followers should conduct their daily lives, also speaks extensively about international politics?
It was evident during Pope Leo XIV’s “State Of The World” address last week.
In his first such event since being elected to the Papal throne back in May last year, the Pope addressed a wide range of issues. Using a classic from Augustine, titled ‘The City of God,’ as the base of his speech, the Pope further elaborated his thoughts on three main topics: the first being the importance of diplomacy as well as the use of language within it; the second being human rights which includes freedom of conscience, freedom of speech, and religious freedom; and the final headline being the world peace. The third, of course, came at the right time: just days after the US attack in Venezuela, a Catholic-majority country.
But, there is a specific aspect of the speech that I found particularly intriguing, especially since it was uttered by a religious leader like the Pope: multilateralism.
In his address, the Pope highlighted the ‘weakness of multilateralism’ as a ’cause for concern at the international level.’ He also lamented the rise of the use of force at the global scale, mentioning that ‘diplomacy that promotes dialogue and seeks consensus among all parties is being replaced by a diplomacy based on force.’ The main question then emerges: why does the Pope have to address this issue? Why multilateralism?
Holy See’s Foreign Policy: A Holy Diplomacy
You probably have seen that in many contemporary and academic literatures, the terms ‘Vatican’ and ‘Holy See’ are often used interchangeably. While acceptable, we have to acknowledge that the two do have distinctions.
The ‘Vatican’ is a physical territory which hosts the iconic Basilica of Saint Peter, the ever-crowded Saint Peter’s Square, the magnificent Sistine Chapel, and the famous Vatican Museum. Meanwhile, the ‘Holy See’ is the spiritual and administrative centre of the Roman Catholic Church and is a subject of international law. In other words, the Holy See is the body of government. Thus, it is the Holy See, not the Vatican, that represents all of the Catholic faithful on the global stage, including at the United Nations. However, for the purpose of simplicity, I will use those two terms interchangeably.
How long, then, has the Holy See been participating as an actor on the global stage?
According to Jodok Troy, the Holy See is ‘one of the oldest participants in the international society of states.’ Similarly, a paper by Janne Matlary claims that the Holy See has always been an international actor, even before the concepts of Westphalian statehood and sovereignty were formulated. In the same research, Matlary adds that the Vatican’s foreign policy is fueled by ‘the rich intellectual tradition of the Catholic Church,’ which means not only do they draw their foreign policy solely from teachings of the Scripture, but also those from Church Fathers such as Augustine of Hippo and Thomas Aquinas.
Pope Leo XIV, in his first audience with members of the Diplomatic Corps in May last year, reiterated three pillars of missionary work that simultaneously act as ‘aim[s] of the Holy See’s diplomacy.’ Those are peace, justice, and truth.
Imagine a classical building, those three aspects will act this way: truth as the foundation, justice as the supporting pillars, and peace as the entablature.
Peace is, evidently, highly regarded by the Holy See.
We should also understand the Vatican’s sense of peace since it does not merely mean an absence or pause of war and conflict.
The Vatican’s understanding of peace can be found in the concept of ‘just peace’; it should permeate every aspect of society. Matlary explains that to achieve just peace, it requires ‘just distribution of goods’, respect of human rights, as well as ‘honest investigation’ of atrocities that may have been conducted in a conflict. That very concept was also reiterated by the Pope himself in his last year’s address, explaining that peace should engage and challenge human beings, regardless of our cultural background or religious affiliation, demanding first of all that we work on ourselves.’
Departing from the Pope’s statement, it is obvious that the Holy See put human beings as an imago Dei at the very centre of its diplomacy.
Pope Leo XIV emphasised that Papal diplomacy is ‘inspired by a pastoral outreach…at the service of humanity.’
Similarly, Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State under the late Pope Francis (as well as under the current Pope Leo XIV), stated that the diplomacy run by the Holy See is a ‘human diplomacy’ and therefore all diplomatic actions should revolve around ‘real people.’
We can conclude that, according to the Vatican’s perspective, one of the ways in which humans can work for peace is through dialogue and consensus in a multilateral setting. It, then, brings us to the main question of this article: why multilateralism?
The Global Reach of Catholicism
The first answer is that Catholics are scattered in most, if not all, of the countries all over the world. From peaceful nations to those with conflicts, such as those in the Middle East and Latin America, you can find a multitude of faithful. The latest data from the Vatican claimed that there are around 1.4 billion Catholic faithful worldwide.
Despite having less than 50 hectares of sovereign area, the Holy See, being the ecclesiastical centre of the Roman Catholic Church, regards every Catholic faithful as its subject. In other words, Catholics worldwide do obey the authority of the Pope. Daniel Binchy, in an address to the Chatham House in 1945, even went on to say that Papal sovereignty “does not depend on the small territory over which he rules.”
We can, therefore, safely say that Papal influence transcends Westphalian-style sovereignty. It transcends modern state boundaries.
For Catholics worldwide, the Pope is regarded as the ‘Vicar of Christ,’ a title that has been passed throughout millennia since the foundation of the Church by the Apostle Paul. As for non-Catholics
As far as my knowledge goes, that case is particular to the Holy See.
Doesn’t that make the Holy See somewhat cosmopolitan?
Referring back to Binchy’s address eight decades ago, he agreed to the idea that the Holy See has ‘acquired an essentially cosmopolitan outlook.’ He further elaborated that the Holy See’s ‘attitude’ is, in fact, ‘supra-national [sic] rather than international’ and it was passed down from the ‘universalist’ idea from the olden age of the Roman Empire.
I, on the other hand, have to dissent from that idea.
The opinion of the Holy See being ‘cosmopolitan’ is actually a mischaracterisation of its global presence that might seem ‘overarching’ for some.
The Holy See, in fact, subscribes to the principle of subsidiarity, which holds that matters should be handled by the most direct authority. In the case of international politics, the direct authority refers to the state government. The principle is also mentioned in Pope Pius XI’s 1931 encyclical, Quadragessimo Anno.
Therefore, it is clear that the Holy See, despite its unique capacity to transcend borders, still consider that states worldwide and their governments are sovereign over their own citizens. It then makes a clear statement about the need for multilateralism.
It is also important to note that most multilateral cooperation happened within what we know as multilateral institutions. And, for the Holy See, those institutions are useful for the continuity of its diplomacy.
For that reason, we come to the second answer: the Holy See prefers multilateralism since it can utilise multilateral institutions to amplify its diplomatic message.
A Need for an Amplifier
In the words of Sarah Teo, multilateralism ‘facilitates the institutionalisation of rules and norms that are relatively beneficial to all participants, regardless of economic size or military capability.’ She, then, argues that multilateral institutions are ‘more open and fair’ and that they could ‘help to restrain major powers from imposing their preferences on the smaller states.’
It is obvious that the Vatican does not possess material resources such as military and economic power in order to be on a par with other states. Instead, they become a norm entrepreneur, taking on the task to define an appropriate standard of behaviour in the international society.
Being a norm entrepreneur is quite common among states of lesser power, such as small and middle powers. It compensates for the lack of material power a country failed to possess.
Papal ‘human-centred’ diplomacy, along with peace, justice, and truth being the aim, is universally accepted, and, regardless of which state you belong to, you will find yourself in agreement with these points. Thus, these are the bases for the Vatican’s norm entrepreneurship.The act of serving as a norm entrepreneur is, therefore, the core of Papal diplomacy.
How does the Holy See project its norm entrepreneurship in a multilateral setting?
It is through the United Nations that the Holy See has been projecting its norm entrepeneurship in the global setting.
The UN, as the centre of multilateral diplomacy, has witnessed the play of the Vatican’s ‘holy diplomacy’ since its elevation to a permanent observer/non-member status within the institution.
The current Pope Leo XIV spoke highly of the United Nations, highlighting its achievements in mediating conflicts, promoting development, and helping states protect freedoms and human rights over the eight decades since its inception.
The UN was built on the ashes of the Second World War, which had ‘brought untold sorrow to mankind.’ Therefore, it is enshrined in its Charter that the purposes of the UN are to maintain international peace and security, to develop friendly relations among nations, to achieve international cooperation in solving international problems, and to be the centre for harmonising the actions of nations.
For the Holy See, the aforementioned purposes share similarities with its conception of diplomacy.
According to an article by Alan Chong and Jodok Troy, both the Holy See and the United Nations represent a ‘universal idealist mission’ such as pursuing peace and working on the ‘universalisation of human rights.’
Even back in the 1960s, Pope Paul VI stated that the Holy See’s role in the United Nations is as an ‘expert of humanity.’
Vatican’s commitment to humanity through multilateral means is also evident in the Pope’s recent address to the diplomatic corps, where he emphasised the need for a “more focused” policy aimed at the “unity of the human family instead of ideologies.” We can also interpret that particular statement as the Pope’s call for reform at the UN, just in time for the growing need for multilateralism.
The slow demise of multilateralism is, therefore, a nightmare for the Holy See.
Not only will it lose its influence in international politics, but the Holy See will eventually have to worry about the safety and security of its subjects worldwide, for when multilateral diplomacy fails, it will lead to the ‘ushering in’ of the ‘diplomacy of force’ that will put humankind in danger.
Therefore, it is right and just that the Pope use his platform and call for efforts to renew the institutions where multilateral diplomacy takes place.