Michael KellyThe Vatican’s exercise of ‘soft power’ is unrivalled writes Michael Kelly
When former Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore announced his decision to close Ireland’s Embassy at the Vatican and downgrade our relationship with the Holy See he cited what he saw as the relative importance – diplomatically – of the Holy See.
The Presidents of the United States and Cuba would certainly disagree and the Vatican has again shown its global reach by pushing the two enemies to engage constructively.
Of course, Mr Gilmore’s decision never had anything to do with diplomacy. Nor was it, as he suggested, for economic reasons. It was about settling a score and offering a victory to anti-Church elements within the Labour party. But, all is changed now, the embassy is in the process of being re-opened and Mr Gilmore has been deposed as leader of his party and banished to the backbenches. It remains to be seen how the spat will affect Ireland’s influence in Rome.
Soviet leader Joseph Stalin once famously asked: “the Pope! How many divisions has he got?” But, the thawing in relations between Cuba and the US indicated that the Vatican under Pope Francis is as adept as ever at handling sensitive global matters.
Pope Francis personally appealed to US President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro this year to encourage both leaders to normalise diplomatic relations, a senior Obama administration official told reporters in Washington.
Speaking on background, the official told reporters that the Pope followed up the personal appeals with letters to the US and Cuban leaders, encouraging them to move forward on efforts to improve relations between the two countries.
The Pope’s actions were part of a major diplomatic effort by the Vatican, which hosted direct talks between American and Cuban officials.
Pope Francis congratulated both governments for agreeing to establish diplomatic relations “with the aim of overcoming, in the interest of the citizens of both countries, the difficulties which have marked their recent history”.
Statement
In a statement released after the announcement was made simultaneously by Mr Obama in Washington and Mr Castro in Havana, the Vatican confirmed the Pope’s role in negotiations between the two countries.
The Vatican said it had invited Mr Obama and Mr Castro to “resolve humanitarian questions of common interest, including the situation of certain prisoners, in order to initiate a new phase in relations between the two parties?”
“The Holy See will continue to assure its support for initiatives which both nations will undertake to strengthen their bilateral relations and promote the well-being of their respective citizens,” the statement said.
The policy changes included the lifting of restrictions on travel to Cuba; review of Cuba’s designation as a state-sponsor of terrorism; allowing the sale of telecommunications equipment to Cuba; lifting of embargoes on Cuban products in the US; and an easing of financial restrictions.
Vatican diplomacy, usually done discretely and behind closed doors, is often under-valued. How, some ask, can the world’s smallest state achieve so much diplomatically?
The global nature of the Church is key; present in virtually every corner of the globe, the Vatican has an unrivalled network. Central too is the fact that, being so small, the Vatican has no trade relationships to guard or compete with other countries, meaning that the Holy See has no selfish strategic interest in the world.
This contributes to making the Vatican as one of the most trusted diplomatic listening posts in the modern world.