The Holy See and Diplomacy (15/05/2007)
Francis Campbell
HM Ambassador to the Holy See
Contribution to the course for Diplomats of the Mediterranean and the Middle East countries, "The Catholic Church and the International Policy of the Holy See", Pontifical Gregorian University,
15 May 2007, Rome
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My sincere thanks to Professors Imoda and Papini for their kind invitation to address this very innovative and timely conference. I am delighted to be speaking this morning alongside His Eminence Cardinal Tauran – probably one of the greatest experts on the Holy See’s Foreign Policy; so you will understand my nervousness and hesitation – and my colleague and friend the Ambassador of Lebanon to the Holy See – His Eminence Mr Nagi Abi Assi.
Our title is the ‘The Diplomatic Corps: The Nunciatures and the Diplomatic Mission to the Holy See’.
We can begin to get at this topic if we ask the simple questions why do we have an embassy to the Holy See? Why is it relevant? Let me begin with a brief historical outline of our relations with the Holy See.
The King of England first appointed a resident ambassador to the Holy See in 1479 – it was England’s first overseas diplomatic appointment. But owing to the Reformation, relations were disrupted in 1534. From the re-founding of resident diplomatic relations between the United Kingdom and the Holy See in 1914, different priorities have been at the forefront of our ties. Initially our relations centred on achieving peace during the Great War. Then our embassy followed very closely the unrest in Ireland leading to independence for Southern Ireland in 1922. The increasing tension in Europe during the inter-war period then came to dominate activities at the embassy. From the period when Italy entered the Second World War until the liberation of Rome, the Minister at the embassy Sir D’Arcy Osborne resided in the Vatican territory. For those who want a more thorough view on the Holy See’s potential in foreign policy, I would refer you to the work of Professor Owen Chadwick and his book on ‘Britain and the Vatican during the Second World War’. Following the Second World War, the relationship between the United Kingdom and the Holy See quickly began to focus on those countries behind the Iron Curtain. The Holy See was an excellent listening post for what was happening in Central and Eastern Europe. In the late 60s, the conflict in Northern Ireland became an area of work for successive British diplomats accredited to the Holy See. But by the middle to late 1990s, with the collapse of communism in Central and Eastern Europe and the peace process steadily advancing in Northern Ireland, the activity of the embassy had to develop a new focus. That new focus had to reflect on the role of the Holy See in the world.
So what about that question – why do we have an embassy to the Holy See? My answer is in four parts.
First the Holy See is a hybrid of the global and the local. The Catholic Church is a player on the world stage: a global religious institution with over 1.1 billion adherents; reach into every corner of the planet; serious influence in as many countries as are in the Commonwealth, a privileged status as interlocutor with the two other Abrahamic faiths – Islam and Judaism – and two generations of intense experience in inter-faith dialogue and many centuries of co-existence. It also has a highly respected diplomatic corps with sharp eyes and ears, not only in 175 countries, but far closer to the ground than any ordinary diplomatic corps ever gets through its network of bishops in each region and clergy in each locality. The Holy See knows what is going on in the world at governmental and grass roots level, has extraordinary access at the highest political level in most Catholic countries, and knows who’s who in the world’s faith communities. While the United Kingdom maintains an extensive international network of embassies and consulates and plays an active role in the international community and in its multilateral agencies, we recognise the breadth and depth of the Holy See’s global reach which is invaluable, especially in those parts of the world where our reach is limited. What is true of an international player like the United Kingdom must surely be even more so for states with more limited international reach and presence.
Second the Holy See is a neutral and respected interlocutor. Added to its global reach is the Holy See’s central role in the wider/global intellectual and moral debate where religion and public policy are joined. We are seeing a resurgence of religion as an influential factor in public life, public policy and international affairs. The Holy See is taken seriously in the religious world and in particular in the world of ideas. It is a key stabilising influence in the global faith/politics debate. In part because of its international neutrality, the Holy See maintains a wide dialogue and is a credible interlocutor with many groups/states in Africa, the Middle East, the Americas, Europe and Asia. This global presence and the experience it brings means that the Holy See’s thinking on a wide variety of themes and areas, far beyond the normal foreign policy subjects, carries weight.
Third the Holy See is a global opinion former. While the Vatican, which is the headquarters of the Holy See, is exceedingly small in physical size, the Holy See is a sovereign entity with an unusually large global reach which touches one sixth of the world’s population and many more beyond. The Papacy is one of the world’s key opinion formers. Its global reach means that the Holy See has the ability to help shape and influence issues of direct relevance to U.K. interests on every continent. Developments, events, speeches and statements by the Holy See and the Pope are closely followed by the world’s media and public opinion. We all remember the unprecedented gathering of leaders at Pope John Paul’s funeral in 2005.
Fourth a hybrid of state and religion. The Holy See is the world’s oldest organisation. It is perhaps also one of the most complex when it comes to governance and decision making. On the one hand, in matters of doctrine it is very centralized, yet in other areas it follows a very well practiced model of subsidiarity which devolves power to the most effective level. It is both a state and a religion. That is part of its uniqueness. It has diplomatic relations with 175 countries and a direct connection (or what some might call a quasi citizenship type relationship) to over 1.1 billion Catholics world-wide (including over 10% of the UK population and 44% of my native area Northern Ireland). The Holy See has a special meaning for Catholics. For the United Kingdom, that in itself makes it a sensitive part of our overseas diplomatic network.
These four factors construct the theoretical basis for maintaining diplomatic relations with the Holy See. What about the practice. I will illustrate the validity of my theory with contemporary examples of the Holy See’s activity in the G8, International Development and Climate Change. I am deliberately avoiding specific mention of the Holy See’s bi-lateral relations with other states. That would bring us in to quite sensitive areas which as working Diplomats you will appreciate are best left private. However, for those with an interest in the Holy See’s bi-lateral relations and to illustrate my point about global breadth and depth, I would refer you to the Pope’s message to the Diplomatic Corps in January of this year, his message for World Day of Peace on 1 January and his recent message on Easter Sunday.
Before moving onto specific policy areas, one piece of diplomatic administrative housekeeping which the diplomats among you may find interesting. On the back of the UK’s analysis of the Holy See last year, which showed a post more committed to multilateralism than bilateralism, we decided in June 2006 to move the embassy away from our European Directorate where it had always been and into our global/international directorate. To my knowledge, most foreign ministries still have the Holy See in their European Directorate or its equivalent. The second move which has occurred, which I also think is a first – is the formation of an All Party Parliamentary Group on the Holy See in the Houses of Parliament in Westminster. These changes are not simply administrative, but I believe they reflect the growing importance of religion in international relations as well as a significant shift in thinking in London, which no longer sees the Holy See as just another mini state in Europe, but as the centre of a global body of 1.1 billion people.
But thinking back to our four themes: global and local; neutral and respected; state and religion; global opinion former, let me turn to two specific examples to illustrate the point: environment and international development.
Environmental policy – what relevance does that have for the Holy See’s diplomacy? I am not introducing it to debate it as a separate topic, but merely to illustrate the wider point of the Holy See’s hybrid nature and its global impact.
Climate change is a curious mix of moral cause and strategic interest. It asks fundamental questions of us all, irrespective of nationality, faith, race, or class. The moral dimension is crucial in addressing climate change. First it can help us to alter our personal behaviour towards a more sustainable form of living. Second it can create the necessary sense of solidarity, not only between this generation and the next, but between us and those living beyond our immediate experience in the Developing World. For it is those living in the Developing World, who are likely to suffer first and most from the effects of climate change. In the past some talked about a false choice between protection of the environment and development. Development is a right in and of itself. The choice is between low carbon development and high carbon development. The Developed world has a moral responsibility to the Developing World to ensure that they can have that choice through assistance with technology transfer, etc.
But what is the connection between morality, faith and the tackling of climate change? It is not simply the need to posit climate change in a moral context, important as that is. But to tackle climate change we need a partnership between the global and the local. Religions are already such a partnership – indeed a hybrid of the global and local. Last month the Holy See convened an international conference on Climate Change. In his message to the Conference, Pope Benedict highlighted the role of individual action and choice – he invited everyone to adopt "a way of living, models of production and consumption marked by respect for creation and the need for sustainable development of peoples, keeping in mind the universal distribution of goods, as is so often mentioned in the Church's social doctrine”.
Action can be motivated in any number of ways; some will be persuaded by self-interest through the economic or scientific evidence. But historically it has always been the moral argument that shifts the momentum toward political and social action in righting a wrong. In the case of climate change, the moral purpose is not opposed to self-interest. Nick Stern the former Chief Economist at the World Bank in his pioneering report on the effects of climate change proved that. The costs of inaction are greater than action. So in this case the moral and the self-interest point in the same direction. We have recently seen a shift in discussions away from national interest toward a moral obligation for the world to act.
Climate Change is at heart a moral issue. Moral arguments are more effective in encouraging us to alter our behaviour to a way of life which will yield a more sustainable climate. We have to examine our choices and their consequences for the world in which we live. Furthermore, a moral dimension can create bonds of solidarity beyond our immediate locality, city or country and help to create a greater sense of global solidarity. Writing in 2002, Pope John Paul II and Patriarch Bartholomew I said “We are ... concerned about the negative consequences for humanity and for all creation resulting from the degradation of some basic natural resources such as water, air, and land brought about by an economic and technological progress which does not recognize and take into account its limits," the declaration said. "Christians and all other believers have a specific role to play in proclaiming moral values and in educating people in ecological awareness, which is none other than responsibility toward self, toward others, toward creation.”
To tackle global warming effectively we need a mixture of the global and the local. Catholic teaching on subsidiarity – which emphasises the need to find the most appropriate level of decision making, including the local – is highly apt when it comes to encouraging local solutions to global problems. Faith groups are by their nature a hybrid of both global and local and the Holy See because of its sovereign status is a global player which has consistently drawn attention to the need to protect the environment.
International Development
In the area of international development the Holy See is one of the major providers of services through its social services arms in the form of Caritas Internationalis (a federation of 162 Catholic aid agencies making it one of the world’s largest development bodies in terms of personnel and spend), CIDSE (a federation of 15 international Catholic NGOs) and the many religious orders and dioceses operating schools, hospitals and social services centres, etc.
The Catholic Church is a very big player in grass roots development worldwide, but especially in Africa (where it is responsible for nearly one quarter of health care provision). In many parts of Sub Saharan Africa faith groups are the primary providers of medical and educational infrastructure. UNAIDS and the WHO are helping the faith groups with a comprehensive mapping programme to determine their capacity on the ground. As one of the largest providers of education on the African continent, the Church provides places in school to some 12 million children each year. Therefore the Holy See is a crucial partner to the international community if we are to deliver on the MDGs by 2015.
In recent months we have seen very fruitful areas of UK-Holy See relations. The International Finance Facility is a novel way to use the capital markets to front load development spending. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown came to the Vatican in 2004 to launch the concept and the late Pope John Paul II gave it his full moral support. Last November, Pope Benedict XVI went one step further and gave it his full practical support. He sent his representative Cardinal Martino – who spoke to you last Monday – to London to purchase the first IFF-Immunisation Bond on the Pope’s behalf. The Bond raised over $1 billion.
IFFIm has been designed to accelerate the availability of funds to be used for health and immunisation programmes in 70 of the poorest countries around the world. By investing the majority of resources up front—“frontloading”—this innovative funding programme will increase significantly the flow of aid to ensure reliable and predictable funding flows for immunisation programmes and health system development during the years up to and including 2015. It is expected to help prevent five million child deaths between 2006 and 2015, and more than five million future adult deaths by protecting more than 500 million children in campaigns against measles, tetanus, and yellow fever.
The Pope’s involvement helped to transform the launch and ensure the success of the initiative. It also showed that the Holy See is at the cutting edge of international development initiatives. That was true again in February of this year when at the launch of the Advanced Market Commitment – a programme to support R&D into finding vaccines for curable diseases which afflict mostly the Developing World - the Pope told Gordon Brown and his colleagues from Italy and Canada – “I assure you of the Holy See's full support of this humanitarian project, which is inspired by that spirit of human solidarity which our world needs in order to overcome every form of selfishness and to foster the peaceful coexistence of peoples”.
When faith groups mobilize their resources – as in the Jubilee Debt Campaign – their impact is keenly felt, not least by the G8. In recent weeks we have again seen the Pope’s direct encouragement with the G8 when his correspondence with Chancellor Merkel was published. We see the Pope asking the Chancellor to ensure that Africa and International Development is prominent in Germanys’ G8 Presidency plans. Building on those letters, last week saw a visiting delegation of Cardinals and Archbishops ranging from countries as far a field as the UK, India, Honduras, Nigeria, DRC, Germany, Italy and France lobby the British Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer, the German Chancellor, Finance Minister and Federal President, the Italian Prime Minister, Finance Minister and Development Minister and the Pope on G8 International Development issues.
There is only enough time to highlight some of our work on international development and climate change. But those examples are replicated many times in other areas too from ecumenism, inter-faith, conflict prevention, migration, disarmament and human rights not to mention the value of the Holy See as a global listening post.
I started by saying that the Holy See is a unique hybrid of the global and the local; the state and the religious. It attracts attention in a way that few other entities can capture the global imagination and it enjoys respect for its tradition of neutrality and equality to all. In summary, for all those reasons it is a valuable, indeed vital part of part of the United Kingdom’s diplomatic network and there are few better places to practice the profession of diplomacy.
Thank you.
"Few other entities can capture the global imagination"