Hosted by the Italian Embassy to the Holy See and co-organized by the geopolitical magazines Frontiers and Vatican News, Cardinal Parolin, Secretary of State of the Holy See, called on the protagonists of international life to work together to end the war in progress.
(Vatican News Network) Cardinal Parolin, Secretary of State of the Holy See, spoke on December 13 at a conference on the “Spirit of Helsinki”, speaking of Europe and of war, and of the vision of peace. The meeting was organized by the Italian embassy to the Holy See, with the assistance of the geopolitical magazine Limes and Vatican News. Among those present were some cardinals, ambassadors from various countries, politicians and journalists. The Italian president was unable to attend the meeting after testing positive for the coronavirus.
In his statement, Cardinal Parolin noted that we must work to “reinvigorate the spirit of Helsinki.” In other words, “We need new ways of dealing with current crises, current wars and the many forgotten wars. We cannot read the current situation only in terms of old models, past military alliances or implanted ideologies and economies and look to the future “.
The cardinal cited relevant teachings of the pope, from the encyclical “Peace in the world” of John XXIII to the encyclical “Fratelli tutti” of Pope Francis, and clarified his thinking with the news reported from February 24 of this year. We see dead civilians, children under rubble, killed soldiers, displaced people, partially destroyed cities in the dark and cold, the cardinal said. However, there is a danger of “getting used” to this pain.
In this sense, the cardinal underlined that the Pope’s tears in front of the statue of the Virgin are “a powerful antidote against normality and indifference”. The Pope also asked to “use all diplomatic channels, even those hitherto unused” to “bring peace”. Peace seems a distant goal, especially in recent weeks, but there is also “some hope” for the resumption of negotiations.
Cardinal Parolin also spoke of his concerns because “there is a return to talk about the use of nuclear weapons and the possibility of a nuclear war” and that “some countries in the world have accelerated the arms race and invested a lot of money in this” , which Should be used for food, work, and medicine.
“We cannot but ask ourselves if we are really doing everything, everything possible to put an end to this tragedy!” said the Secretary of State of the Holy See. It sadly invites all the protagonists of international life to respond to the Pope’s appeal during the reading of the Angelus on October 2, “to do everything possible to stop the current war, not to get involved in a dangerous escalation, but to promote peace. Initiatives in support of dialogue”.
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