Is the Vatican a power structure?
If we understand the meaning of the word "power" as a desire for command and control, then obviously, the power structure of the Vatican we are talking about is not the power structure referred to by this secular society. In fact, the word "power" is not clearly defined in international law, but is discussed as a "subject of international law" when discussing the political relations between the two countries. Its purpose is to safeguard the unity, organization, independence and equality of the two countries. In this sense, the Holy See is indeed the subject of international law. As a noble, independent and organized entity, it actively participates in international judicial activities.
But does the Vatican have political influence?
If we think that "politics" is to impose our preferences on others by strategy, the answer is no, if we think that "politics" is to care about and strive to strengthen the relationship between countries and leaders, so that the future international community will become a real "international family", then the answer is yes.
In addition, there are more answers. Here, I don't talk about "the Holy See is a political power", but I want to say that "the Holy See is an ethical authority". Its mission of serving the international community includes two purposes:
Religion, paying attention to the spiritual interests of the Catholic Church and all Christians, is the primary responsibility of the Holy See.
Ethics, by arousing people's concern that law transcends power, the Holy See is eager to provide an "ethical code" for international life.
1995, former Pope John Paul II clearly pointed out the role of the Holy See in the international community in his speech to the diplomatic missions of various countries in the Holy See. He said: "The reason why the Holy See is in the international community is that it will become the waiting voice of human conscience without belittling the contribution of other religious traditions. The Pontifical Church, with its spirit and universal authority, will continue to serve mankind, with no other purpose but to constantly arouse the world's attention to the common interests of mankind, respect everyone and carry forward the highest spiritual values. (No.10)
So the Vatican has no ambition to control, it doesn't want to conquer, it just wants to convince!
Now, I want to explain to you the strategy of the Holy See, or its educational methods. In this way, the Holy See participates in international affairs, so that it can directly share its consistent belief with countries participating in international policies, that is, real and lasting peace cannot be reduced to checks and balances between two opposing powers. Most importantly, a truly lasting peace is the result of moral and judicial actions.
The following three beliefs form the basis of the international action of the Holy See:
1. The people and their inalienable rights constitute the priority of the judicial order.
2. Promoting and maintaining peace must be more important than using force.
3. The most appropriate way to solve the inevitable disputes between countries in a peaceful and dignified way is to respect international law.
1. People and their basic rights must be the inspiration and driving force for all international political activities. To respect the basic rights of human beings means to respect the right to life, that is, to respect every stage of human life development until his natural death.
We all know the unforgettable teachings of former Pope John Paul II about life and family. This teaching is the main content of the representatives of the Holy See when attending important international conferences planned by the United Nations. The following are these important meetings: 1992 conference on environment and development; 1993 Conference on Human Rights held in Vienna; 1Conference on Population and Development held in Cairo in 1994; 1995 women's conference held in Beijing; 1996 conference on housing held in Istanbul; And the sustainable development conference held in Johannesburg in 2000.
If the international judicial community solemnly declares the basic right to life like Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights or Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, then we have to feel sorry for many national laws, international norms and biomedicine that endanger human life. Speaking of this, we will think of the so-called "abortion right", embryo experiment, human cloning research and even euthanasia.
When the Vatican comes into contact with those who are responsible to the international community, it always declares that life is a gift from God and therefore sacred.
At this point, the Holy See also wants to speak on behalf of all Christians and good people. It insists that the right to life is the foundation of all other rights, namely, the right to freedom of conscience and religious belief, the right to education, the right to work and the right to development.
The Pope has emphasized on many different occasions that basic human rights come not from the state, nor from authoritative people, but from people themselves (see the speech at the 700th anniversary of La Sapienza University in Rome on May, 2003 17). In response to Pope John XXIII's encyclical "Peace on Earth", John Paul II urged the authorities in the world today to "recognize, respect, establish, protect and promote" these rights from the perspective of human nature, because these rights are universal, inviolable and inalienable.
You have also noticed that the Holy See firmly upholds freedom of conscience and religious belief, which means not only freedom of ceremony, but also the possibility for believers to fully and actively participate in the social and political life of their own countries, and they are often members of faith groups. Pope John Paul II often mentioned his experiences in Poland on different occasions. He warned the world that when freedom of belief is threatened or suppressed, the basic freedom of others is also threatened.
In short, the Holy See opposes any view that regards people as a dimension, and it advocates that people should be open to their own personal, social and transcendental dimensions.
2. Promoting and maintaining peace is another basic supporting force for the Holy See to participate in international actions. It urged Pope John Paul II to tell the world before the first Gulf War in 199 1: "War is a dangerous point of no return. More than a year ago, when the United States invaded Iraq, he added: "War is often an act of destroying human nature. 」
Many modern popes have always opposed the view that war is an appropriate way to solve racial disputes. War is the worst way to achieve peace.
In the recent Iraq crisis, Pope John Paul II and his working partners declared that every country should have the right to protect its own existence and freedom and oppose unfair aggressors in a proportionate way. In addition to the legal defense by force, under the arbitration of a third party or an organization with international authority, dialogue and mediation are often a better way to solve contradictions. In fact, from experience, wars always lead to more wars.
To this end, the Holy See makes every effort to achieve effective arms limitation, just to balance terror. In order to show its moral support in this regard, the unarmed Holy See signed the Treaty on the Limitation of Nuclear Weapons in 197 1. 1993 Agreement on the Prohibition of the Production, Development and Use of Chemical Weapons; 1997 Convention on the Prohibition and Destruction of Anti-personnel Mines (also known as Ottawa Convention). All these are aimed at achieving real peace and complete disarmament.
The Holy See firmly believes that the suffering and destruction caused by weapons actually put the users of weapons at risk. In the long run, the evil that was originally intended to be eliminated with weapons is even more arrogant. In a word, we must not forget that the arms race has not eliminated the causes of war, but has increased the danger of war. The funds invested in the search for new weapons hinder the provision of assistance to the poor and delay the development of the country. The arms race has increased the causes of conflicts and the danger of continuing conflicts. (See Catholic Teaching No.23 15)
3. Peace is not the absence of war. Peace should be based on laws that can ensure justice. The Holy See firmly believes that every country has the obligation to respect the principles of international law and all countries have the freedom to abide by the details of the treaty. Without law, there can be no order, freedom and peace.
During the Iraq crisis in 2003, the Holy See disagreed with the principle of "preventive war" aimed at attacking, and called for respecting the principles formulated in Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter when peace was threatened or the country was attacked.
In fact, the international community has formulated the rights and obligations of human judicial heritage. After paying a painful sacrifice, the international community has gained a kind of? If the world had adopted this principle in the past few years, as the old Latin proverb says, "We should abide by the agreement", bloodshed and many international crises would have been avoided.
The Holy See has always attached importance to and respected international law, and often actively participated in different international conferences, which reminds me of the responsibility of humanitarian intervention. In the dramatic event of 1992 that Bosnia was ravaged, the Pope and his assistants made every effort to formulate the rights and obligations of humanitarian intervention: when a country became the victim of an unjust aggressor because it was unable to defend itself, other members of the international community should not stand idly by. In fact, this is a modern metaphor of the kind Samaritan.
1992 When I attended the meeting of diplomatic envoys of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in Stockholm, I was honored to explain the views and positions of the Holy See. I quoted my speech at the meeting: "If we want to help the weakest people ... those who can't resist unfair aggressors with our own strength, we should judge the necessity of using force. The Holy See is of the opinion that the use of force must be limited to defensive and deterrent (not war), and we must weigh the inevitable risks against the use of force before making any decision. 」
The Holy See attaches great importance to this law, which can be seen from its long-term support for the United Nations. Here, I think of Pope Pius XII, Pope John XXIII, Pope Paul VI, and especially John Paul II. 1995 When he went to the United Nations for the last time to attend the 50th anniversary celebration, he made a speech, positioning the United Nations as "a great tool to promote harmony and cooperation in international life". As you may know, on July 1 last year, the United Nations resolution clearly pointed out and recognized the status and privileges of the permanent observer selected by the Holy See since 1964. This recognition makes the Vatican an independent individual, not involved in international disputes, so as to exert its moral authority and help the United Nations play its role. This is why Pope John Paul II wants to express his expectations for the United Nations. "The United Nations should increasingly surpass its grim image as an administrative agency and become a moral center trusted by the whole world and the home of all countries ... In essence, this family is a group based on mutual trust, support and respect. In a real family, the strong will not control the weak. On the contrary, because they are weak, they deserve more care and service. (N. 14) Even today, these words are still meaningful.
Only when everyone truly abides by the law at all times and places can we prevent the weak from becoming victims of bullies with malicious intentions and using force. The Holy See will continue to do its utmost to ensure that the force of law prevails over the rule of force.
1997 At the beginning of the year, John Paul II said when he received the envoy of the Holy See: "The role of law is to give everyone what he deserves and what he lacks under the principle of fairness. Therefore, law has a strong moral practicality ... For a long time, international law has been regarded as the law of war and peace. I believe that it is increasingly becoming a just and unified peace law. In this case, morality must influence the law; Morality is a prerequisite for making laws, which can show what is the right and good way. (N.4)
Perhaps now you want to know, how does the Holy See convey this multi-content information to international groups and their leaders?
The Holy See publicly appeals in writing or orally; Or the pope's speeches, teachings, apostles' visits and daily interviews with believers to convey these beliefs.
However, the most important thing is that through bilateral and multilateral diplomacy, the Holy See can contact leaders in international affairs every day.
As we all know, Roman Catholicism is the only religious group that has established diplomatic relations with most countries in the world. This is due to its core, universal and supranational organization. In fact, the leader of this organization, the Bishop of Rome, has enjoyed the privilege of an international legal person from the moment he was elected. Historically, the papal residence has always been regarded as an international center, especially what we call the western Christian world.
Since the fourth and fifth centuries, the envoys sent by the Pope have been the representatives of the Pope. The legitimate sovereignty of the Holy See has withstood the severe test of history. Even today, because of its participation in bilateral and multilateral diplomacy, it still actively appears on the international stage.
At present, the Holy See has diplomatic relations with 174 countries (the most recent one is Kuwait), in addition to special relations with the European Union and Malta; It also has official relations with the Russian Federation and the Palestine Liberation Organization. In addition, the Holy See participates in major international institutions and government organizations, namely the United Nations and its related institutions, and has permanent observer status. The Holy See is a member of the International Atomic Energy Commission and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and also enjoys the status of special envoy of the European Parliament.
Protect people's bodies, minds and spirits, support research against human cloning, defend religious freedom (not a certain ceremony), encourage universal brotherhood, promote religious talks, condemn unresolved issues in the Middle East, and encourage the establishment of a Europe breathing with two lungs. The Vatican's efforts in these areas are not only to protect the interests of Catholics and all Christians, but also to protect the interests of everyone who wants to make the earth a better home. It does so because it believes in everyone and is convinced of the need to build a universal family and universal interests to achieve an equal and humane solution.
So how to answer the question I asked at the beginning of my speech, "Is the Holy See a political power? My answer is that the Vatican is far beyond political power. It is a companion on the journey, and it accompanies mankind through the journey of history. Is a listening and speaking partner. It does not replace political leaders, citizens and their responsibilities, but cares about people's conscience awakening.
It is a companion, reminding everyone that there is indeed an international family. Like all families, their relationship must be based on mutual trust. In the family, there will be no phenomenon that the strong have more control over other members.
Faced with this chaotic phenomenon of hatred and disgust, such as terrorism, unresolved conflicts, identity crisis, social, economic and cultural inequality, the Holy See has made constant efforts to enable people all over the world and Catholics to promote justice, unity, friendship and peace everywhere. This is a way to proclaim the eternal "gospel of peace" in the conflict of human history. "Prepare for the gospel of peace and walk with shoes on your feet. (F: 6, 15) In this way, one day, those who master "power" can understand the true meaning of my compatriot and famous philosopher Blaise Pascal's convincing and original famous saying: "The essence of power is protection".