The Pope Visits 2 African Nations In Crisis : How Does Vatican Diplomacy Work? 

Pope Francis reaches the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Tuesday to kick-off a two leg tour of the DRC & South Sudan – two nations steeped into conflict, more or less forgotten by the world and in urgent need of peace-making and international highlight. This editorial gives a brief overview of the Pope’s visit, and then explains the gears and rosaries behind Vatican diplomacy and whether its effectiveness is real or merely symbolic. 

The Pope’s Visit To Democratic Republic of Congo & South Sudan 

The 86-year-old Head of the Catholic Church will start off his visit by celebrating Mass in the DRC capital of Kinshasa on Wednesday.

Roman Catholics constitute about half of Congo’s and South Sudan’s populations, and the Vatican Church is heavily involved in the upkeep of public facilities such as schools and hospitals.

However, both countries are facing a long and ongoing conflict that has led to the displacement, misery, and poverty of millions. Despite being well endowed with natural resources, the countries have not been able to stabilize their crisis situation. 

The Pope’s visit to the DRC makes it the first visit to the country by a pope since John Paul II traveled there in 1985, a time when the country was known as Zaire. A visit of such an important nature comes after the Vatican’s ambassador to DRC, Archbishop Ettore Balestrero, expressed the following opinion about the country’s condition – 

“Congo is a moral emergency that cannot be ignored.” 

After the Mass, the Pope is scheduled to meet with victims of ongoing violence in the eastern part of the country, where fighting has restarted between the army and the militant group M23. 

Congo’s internal instability and natural resources have made it a hub of conflict between militias, government troops, and foreign invaders. According to the United Nations, an estimated 5.7 million people are internally displaced in Congo, and 26 million face severe hunger, largely because of the impact of the armed conflict. 

Local Catholic populations are looking up to the papal visit as a ray of hope. They expect the Pope to facilitate regional stability and speak up for Congo on the world stage. Thousands of devout Catholics are making a cross-country journey to meet the Pope in the capital city. 

Reuters writes more about the visit and is set to provide further updates.

In this light, it becomes important to delve further into Vatican diplomacy: what it is, how it works, and what impact does it have in a complex and ever-changing international environment? 

Understanding Vatican Diplomacy 

Vatican diplomacy traces its origins to the very origins of the Roman Catholic Church. The Pope exercises his jurisdiction through the sovereign unit of the Holy See, and the diplomatic service of the Holy See is considered to be the oldest in the world, despite being relatively less known and explored. 

What started off with the sending of envoys to other countries to represent church matters has now evolved into a systematic order of diplomatic corps known as “apostolic nuncios,” who are trained in a special facility, regulated by the Secretariat of State, and deployed to over 183 nations with which the Vatican enjoys formal diplomatic relations. 

Apart from bilateral diplomatic deployments, the Vatican’s diplomats are also sent to international organizations, agencies, and secretariats, such as the UN, where the Holy See enjoys Permanent Observer Status. With growing regionalization, the Holy See has also entered into collaboration and secured observer status in regional forums, such as ECOWAS in Western Africa. 

The Holy See does not operate on the same grounds as a state actor. It does not defend any temporal or material interest; its primary purpose is religious and involves the protection of Catholic communities around the world. 

In general diplomatic terms, this refers to the “public diplomacy” responsibility or the protection of the diaspora. In the case of the Holy See, however, this diaspora numbers close to 1.2 billion. 

The Holy See also does not operate on standard sovereignty principles, as its sovereignty is not territorial but spiritual, consisting of the Catholic population around the world. The Vatican is just a “marker” of this sovereignty, not the entirety of it. 

It is also one of the only sovereign units that has declared by decree to restrict its powers and not to take part in any temporal rivalries between states. The Holy See is also not restricted by the push and pull of economy and military, having no standing army of its own and being based in an economic setup where the primary exports are postcards. 

This, according to the Church, gives the Holy See a unique position and impartiality that other states cannot enjoy. 

Impact of Vatican Diplomacy 

When Winston Churchill & Stalin were debating over some controversial moves during the Second World War, Churchill pointed out that the Vatican would be displeased by the same. Stalin is famously known to have sarcastically replied, 

“How many divisions (regiments of soldiers) does the pope have?” 

Stalin’s comment reflected the “realpolitik” view of the international system back at that time, where the Catholic Church was at best an insignificant power, if it had any power at all in international affairs. The contemporary world, however, has shown a different picture. 

Mediation 

Vatican diplomacy has been extremely effective in settling bilateral disputes. While by decree the Vatican does not take part in the temporal rivalries between states, it does however intervene when it is asked to do so, specifically through a request made on the behalf of a Catholic nation. Since such a request represents the aspirations and well-being of the Catholic population of that country, the diplomacy of the Vatican extends to these conflicts. 

However the Vatican reserves itself to mediation, and mediation alone. Over the years, the unique position of the Holy See has allowed it to carve a special niche in offering mediatory assistance to countries in crisis.

The Holy See’s mediation in the US-Cuba conflict is especially well known. The Pope played an extremely important role in reducing tensions between the US President and Soviet Premier during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and throughout the Cold War, he has been actively involved in Cuba to avoid such a situation again. Vatican diplomacy essentially groomed Cuba, leading to the peace agreement between the US and Cuba in 2014. 

Inter-Religious Cooperation 

In a growing polarizing world, with many conflicts being ethnic and religious – the spiritual nature of Vatican diplomacy gives it an advantage over its secular counterparts. The Holy See is often known to have acted as an interlocutor with other Abrahamic faiths, including Judaism and Islam.

In 2007, Iran captured 15 British military personnel who were allegedly trespassing in Iranian waters. The UK did not know what to do; most of its close allies, including those in the EU and the UN, were not well positioned to mediate the issue due to their existing differences over Iran’s nuclear program.

The Holy See emerged as the obvious neutral mediator, leading to British embassy officials urging the Pope to write a letter to Iran’s spiritual leader. Within hours of sending the letter, the Iranian President freed the captives and responded to the Pope’s appeal with a well-worded letter of his own. 

This shows that in the current day, when secular diplomacy chokes over long-standing status quo, conflicts, and conventions, spiritual channels of diplomacy can present a viable alternative and also provide opportunities for greater inter-religious cooperation and dialogue. The Church & State in this case, exists parallelly. 

Advocacy for Socio-Economic & Political Problems facing the World 

The Holy See, according to Cardinal Tauran, former undersecretary of state relations for John Paul II, can be qualified as a “moral power.” It acts at the international level in favor of the moral understanding that there cannot be peace between countries without peace and justice between human beings. 

The purpose of the Vatican’s foreign policy, as experts opine, is for the common good, not for geopolitical advancements. This includes the tireless search for peace and rejection of war, respect for human dignity and human rights, and support for integral human development. 

This purpose of Vatican diplomacy makes it a major figure in diplomatic activism, where the sovereignty of the Holy See is utilized in negotiation conflicts, to put an end to hostilities, condemn atrocious weapons of war, promote religious freedom in authoritarian regimes, and encourage solidarity and justice in the face of economic and financial upheavals, wealth disparities, underdevelopment, etc. 

Pope Francis himself is particularly known for this brand of Vatican diplomacy. As Victor Gatean, author of the book ‘God’s Diplomats’ writes, 

“As pope, Francis practices diplomacy for a multipolar world, and he goes out of his way to model dialogue as the antidote to conflict.” 

Pope Francis has been able to draw international attention to the message of the Catholic Church through his tactful and able stances on the plights of refugees, the use of chemical and bioweapons, the ethics of weaponized drones, the negative aspects of globalization, the plight of native and indigenous populations, the rising presence of China in the world, and political violence caused by religious and ethnic divides. 

This allows the Holy See to be a unique contributor to the various international issues and concerns that rile up the international order. Soft power is the Vatican’s tool of choice. 

His current visit to the Congo and South Sudan is part of a recent Vatican shift in prioritizing the regions of Central Asia, Middle East & Africa. 

Intelligence Gathering 

Finally, the Holy See is endowed with a unique intelligence network not available to any state in the world. The Holy See has access to a vast network of missionaries, prelates, and Catholics throughout the world, which has led to the Diplomat Magazine calling it a “Global Listening Post.” 

This allows Vatican diplomats to be very well informed and have a unique position while mediating disputes, preventing conflicts, and ultimately saving lives. A case in point to such a situation can be made to the Vatican mediation of the Beagle conflict between Argentina & Chile, where an escalation into war was avoided. Such a network allows collaboration, intelligence gathering, observation, and the opportunity to reach out to actors such as insurgents or militia groups while mediating a peace negotiation. 

Such a capability of the Holy See is admired by diplomats all around the world, and during the Cold War, it was also an element of concern for one of the most intimidating intelligence agencies known to humanity—the KGB. 

Final Thoughts 

The diplomacy of the Holy See is thus a unique case study in ecclesiastical sovereignty and foreign policy with a moral imperative. In a world where religious sensitivity is on the rise and authoritarian threats such as right-wing populism are growing, Vatican diplomacy not only has relevance, it also has an imperative to act.

However, this has to be done by collaborating with other non-state actors, such as NGOs, and by avoiding the misuse of its influence on lobbying for socially redundant issues. Also, much of the authority of Vatican diplomacy is reliant on its legitimacy and “purity,” hence the need for the Holy See to regulate the various scandals that get attached to it.

Establishing bridges, seeking dialogue, not becoming involved in disputes between states, and having a long term view are some of the hallmarks that govern the Holy See’s diplomacy and give it a unique place in the international system. In a world where diplomacy lacks dignity more and more often, the variant that the Holy See provides is literally a “god-sent.” 

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