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April 18, 2005

The Fletcher Community Ponders the Role of the Papacy in International Affairs

“He was a voice for the voiceless,” and “a friend of all peoples.” Such were the tributes paid in abundance to Pope John Paul II at Goddard Chapel, where Fletcher students joined other members of the Tufts community--including leaders of other faiths--in a remembrance and celebration services for the life of the John Paul II.

For the Fletcher community, however, recognition of the Pope goes beyond his good works to a wider acknowledgement of the role of the Papacy in international affairs.

University Chaplain, Father David O’Leary, stated that the Vatican represents a voice of morality in international affairs, but it also can’t afford to be overbearing. John Paul II realized he needed to reach out to explain his views on important issues. “The church’s position is not right just because the church is saying it…people need to see the wisdom behind what the church is saying,” he explained. O’ Leary also highlighted the contributions that the Vatican had made to international affairs such as drafting the United Nations Charter and their work on behalf of women’s rights worldwide.

Roger Milici, Director of Development and Alumni Relations and a Vatican watcher, picked up on the theme of moral leadership. He postulated that “recent popes have acted as champions for peace and justice and have stood, sometimes anachronistically and sometimes to the wonderment of the world, as symbols and teachers of moral absolutes and the role faith can play in our increasingly complex and materialistic world.”

Milici also detailed the papacy’s role: “The Vatican has the oldest diplomatic corps in the world with reciprocal relations with about 160 nations. Moreover, the Holy See’s diplomats are also represented in a number of international organizations such as IAEA, UN, IMF and OAS. The Vatican speaks sparingly on international affairs, but when it does, it can muster intense moral pressure.”

Questions were raised about the universality and legitimacy of a religious leader that does not speak for people of all faiths. Milici responded that governments do listen to what the Pope has to say. “I think we can see evidence that government leaders do listen to the Pope--not so much as teacher of faith and spiritual leader of 1 billion Roman Catholics, but as defender of human and religious freedom, social justice and the dignity of life.”

Milici went on to give a number of examples, including John Paul II lecturing Poland's General Jaruzelski, or meeting confidentially with Ronald Reagan's CIA director to push for human rights. The papacy was also given credit for helping to end centuries of animosity with Jews by removing anti-semitic language from the Catholic Mass and embracing Jewish leaders as "elder cousins." Finally, he cited the Vatican's role in the Helsinki Accords which set boundaries for Eastern Europe and demanded that its signatories to respect human rights.

Joseph McCrossen, (MALD 06) explained his views on the passing of the Pope. “It’s perhaps appropriate that two of the iconic Western leaders in the fight against Communism in the 1980s, Pope John Paul II and U.S. President Ronald Reagan, died within a year of one another. While President Reagan relied on hard power to a degree-- funding proxy armies to fight the Soviet Union in places like Afghanistan, John Paul II used the tools of public diplomacy to accomplish his goal of ending Soviet rule in Eastern Europe. I’d consider John Paul’s papacy during that period to be a shining example of Nye’s concept of soft power”.

According to McCrossen, the intelligence capabilities of the Catholic Church helped John Paul II become one of the most well informed actors in the international system. “While the Pope couldn’t match the Soviets’ military divisions in Eastern Europe, he had perhaps a more divine army he could rely upon,” McCrossen explained. “I bet the Pope had better on-the-ground intelligence than the CIA when it came to knowing what was really going in Eastern Europe during the end of the Cold War. He could rely upon a network of local religious leaders to provide him with reports of what was actually going on at the grassroots level. There’s got to be a MALD thesis in there for someone!”

Article by Joy-Dee Davis, MALD '05

Posted by jessica at April 18, 2005 01:13 PM