The Vatican Secretary of State said the pope\u2019s appeals for peace need concrete support.<\/p>\n
VATICAN CITY \u2014 Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin warned that the \u201clogic of the strongest\u201d risks prevailing on the international stage and called on Christians to become \u201cvoices of peace\u201d who do not leave Pope Leo XIV standing alone in his opposition to war.<\/p>\n
In an interview with Dialoghi, a cultural magazine linked to Italian Catholic Action, Parolin said the voice of the pope is \u201cprophetic\u201d but risks becoming \u201ca voice crying in the wilderness if it is not supported and helped concretely.\u201d<\/p>\n
His remarks also offer a key to understanding the peace prayer vigil Leo XIV has called for April 11 in St. Peter\u2019s Basilica.<\/p>\n
Parolin recalled the 2003 Iraq war, when St. John Paul II pleaded for the conflict to be avoided but \u201cwas left alone.\u201d He therefore stressed the need to support the current pontiff\u2019s appeal for a peace that is \u201cunarmed and disarming\u201d and to reject \u201cthe false propaganda of rearmament.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a need for more voices of peace, more voices against the madness of the rush toward rearmament, more voices raised in favor of our poorest brothers and sisters, more voices and more proposals \u2014 I am thinking, for example, of the world of Catholic universities \u2014 for new economic models inspired by justice and care for the weakest instead of the idolatry of money,\u201d Parolin said.<\/p>\n
The cardinal described an alarming international climate in which military action appears to impose itself too easily.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am struck by how much determination \u2014 I was about to say ease \u2014 with which the military option is presented as decisive, almost inevitable,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
According to the Vatican secretary of state, this trend has left diplomacy practically \u201cmute,\u201d unable to activate alternative tools, while awareness of the tragedy of war and the value of shared rules is being lost.<\/p>\n
Parolin said the root of the problem is a \u201cmulti-polarism inspired by the primacy of power,\u201d in which states place greater trust in force than in international law. That, he said, has produced \u201cdouble standards,\u201d visible in the differing reactions to attacks on civilians in Ukraine and the destruction in Gaza.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany governments,\u201d Parolin said, \u201chave expressed indignation over attacks against Ukrainian civilians by Russian missiles and drones, imposing sanctions on the aggressors.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI do not think the same has happened with the tragedy of the destruction of Gaza,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
For the cardinal, this is a case of \u201cdouble standards\u201d tied to the \u201cprimacy of power\u201d \u2014 the dominance of one\u2019s own country over others \u2014 with international law invoked \u201conly when convenient\u201d and ignored in many other cases.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt seems there has been a lack of awareness of the value of peace, awareness of the tragic reality of war, awareness of the importance of shared rules and of respecting them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Parolin also lamented the weakening of the global diplomatic architecture and said it is \u201cutopian\u201d to think peace can be guaranteed \u201cby weapons and by balances imposed by the strongest rather than by international agreements.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe cannot surrender to the logic of the strongest,\u201d the cardinal insisted, because that logic \u201cbends international law to its own interests\u201d and weakens multilateral institutions.<\/p>\n
In that context, he also expressed regret that Europe has been unable to speak with one voice. He said it is necessary \u201cto rekindle in peoples the sense of European belonging and, in leadership, the awareness of the need for common actions without ever failing the principles that are at the foundation of the European Union itself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Regarding the United Nations, Parolin said the Holy See \u201ccontinues to believe in its importance,\u201d considering international organizations essential for restraining the logic of the strongest. At the same time, he acknowledged that the use of the veto has limited the U.N.\u2019s ability to act.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe cannot move from the force of law to the law of force,\u201d he warned.<\/p>\n
Parolin also highlighted the role believers can play, including defending life and human dignity, protecting religious freedom, promoting reforms to the economic and financial system in line with the Church\u2019s social doctrine, and caring for creation.<\/p>\n
Finally, the cardinal addressed the cultural impact of new technologies, saying hyper-connectivity and the spread of fake news help fuel fear and build new walls.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs Christians, we must oppose this drift with our daily lives,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n
This story\u00a0was first published\u00a0by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.<\/p>\n