An interesting look at the diplomatic style of Pope Francis by Sandro Magister at his blog Chiesa:
Where diplomacy fails, Pope Francis takes the field his own way.
With silence, as in the unscheduled stop in front of the wall of separation in Bethlehem.
Go here to read the rest. Most Popes act as their own chief diplomat in the modern world. In our age of instant communications it would be impossible for it to be otherwise. Saint John Paul II was a grandmaster at his diplomatic initiatives being echoed by countries that viewed him as a powerful force in the world. The support of the US for the freedom of Solidarity in Poland, championed by John Paul II was a prime example. However, John Paul II had his greatest success when he was matched with great leaders like Reagan and Thatcher who shared the Pope’s desire to end Communism in Europe. Pope Francis reigns in a time when the West is filled with little men and women at the helm, weak and confused. A Pope can only do so much, and whatever a Pope’s style in diplomacy the success or failure of his foreign policy efforts is often dependent upon leaders in the West who are willing to follow where a Pope is leading. If that willingness is not there, all of the papal diplomacy in the world will not make up for that lack,
Talleyrand once remarked that the task of an ambassador, like that of the cavalry, is to cover and discover.
Every pope needs a efficient diplomatic corps.
“the Argentine church was confused and divided”
There has been confusion and division in the Church since the early times. The Council of Jerusalem was called for this reason. The first ecumenical council at Nicea was called by Constantine (probably with Pope Sylvester) because of religious and civl confusion and division.
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Questions today are not just about the role of the Church in the world polity, but, more basic: confusion and division concerning the Church’s identity…and what does She teach. (in a language appropriate for today of course!)
Diplomacy seeks unity of disparate interests through understanding… well and good – but Catholic diplomacy should not stray from conviction of absolute truth.
The hierarchy is a public face of the Church in the world. May God bless us with unity and strength in understanding that we do have a message, we know what it is, ad we know we are called to proclaim it.