Originally published at https://www.acistampa.com/story/33373/laccademia-ecclesiastica-compie-325-anni-parolin-chiede-un-rinnovamento-nel-pensiero
It is time to ” contribute to the development of a new doctrine ” that responds to the current world order and also to the demands of peace. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, made this statement the centerpiece of his dense lecture for the 325th anniversary of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, the school of the “Pope’s ambassadors. “
A historic day in its own way, celebrated on the day of Saint Anthony the Abbot, patron saint of the Academy , which almost providentially also falls on the birthday of the Secretary of State, who with the reform of the Academy desired by Pope Francis in 2024 became not only its protector, but also its Grand Chancellor.
And, of course, the Jubilee for three and a quarter centuries of history envisages exceptional celebrations. Leo XIV sent a letter , and the entire diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See was invited to the symposium, while the dean, Georges Poulides , ambassador of Cyprus to the Holy See who was accredited by John Paul II in the now distant 2003 , was invited to deliver a brief address in response to Cardinal Parolin’s lectures . The reform of the Academy was outlined by Vincenzo Buonomo , the Academy’s scientific director, while the introduction was by Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio, president of the Academy.
Pennacchio, in particular, recalled the Academy’s original purpose, which was precisely “the formation of priests called to serve the Petrine Ministry in the field of international relations, through diplomatic action oriented toward peace, dialogue, and the promotion of human dignity.”
The keynote address, entitled “Peace and Justice in the Diplomacy of the Holy See Facing New Challenges,” was very insightful. Its focus lies precisely in that request to develop new thinking, a doctrine that is up-to-date with the times. But this request stems from an awareness that can be seen in the sometimes harsh tone of his lecture .
The cardinal calls for “a path of conversion also for those who operate on the international scene,” because despite the various signs of war, “voices continue to be raised from different regions of the planet calling for peace and justice,” and this requires “establishing a new style.”
Cardinal Parolin does not hesitate to define the current context as “critical,” and outlines a cahiers de doleances regarding “political decisions that are supported only by force of arms or the will to power that inspires language and demonstrations on the international stage,” noting that today the international order has changed, implying that the United Nations founded 80 years ago is now obsolete, and “ we must acknowledge this, and not only as spectators, perhaps with some nostalgia for the world that was, but to be ready to operate as protagonists .”
Parolin speaks of “fragile” global structures, in which tensions “are growing even where situations seemed reconciled,” while global imbalances are increasing. “Paradoxically,” states the Vatican Secretary of State, “the very dimension of security, now invoked for every action ranging from prevention to rearmament, requires an approach no longer limited solely to military and terrorism issues, but one open to ensuring food, health, educational, environmental, and energy security. And this without forgetting religious security, which must be ensured in the face of violence inflicted on believers through the use of weapons, discrimination, and isolation; or through the instrumentalization of faith , the privatization of religious practice, and even indifference to every transcendent dimension.”
And again, the cardinal denounces the questioning of ” principles such as the self-determination of peoples, territorial sovereignty, the rules that govern war itself “, to the point that “the entire apparatus built by international law for areas such as disarmament, development cooperation, respect for fundamental rights, intellectual property, trade and commercial transit” is relativised.
And this is why a new doctrine is needed, because “if in the face of the new international order established in the 16th century, the School of Salamanca, from which modern international law was born, updated the vision of “war” systematized by Thomas Aquinas – from Augustine of Hippo onwards it was one of the areas on which the Church reflected – so today arguments appear necessary that are capable of overcoming the limits and barriers which, before being material, are often those of the soul” .
Cardinal Parolin looked to the appeals for peace from Popes of the last century, from Benedict XV to Pope Francis , and emphasized that diplomacy “cannot limit itself to protecting individual advantages or needs, but is called to contribute to building the common good, which remains the primary objective of social life in every community, whether state or international. It is not a matter of adding to the well-being of individuals, but of achieving ‘those conditions of social life that allow both communities and individual members to reach their perfection more fully and more quickly.'”
Cardinal Parolin stated that “in the face of violations of the binding principles of international law and the basic rules of living together in the society of states, and of conflict proposed as the only method for governing international relations, we must overcome that sense of impotence that transforms into anguish in the face of a use of force that destroys the aspirations of peoples, exacerbates inequalities, and creates unjust balances.”
And for this reason, he added, conscience and reason “will no longer be able to tolerate violations of sovereignty in the most diverse forms, the forced displacement of entire peoples , the change in the ethnic composition of territories, the deprivation of the means necessary for carrying out economic activity or the limitation of freedom”.
The head of Vatican diplomacy laments that “the right of States to guarantee their security seems to have been forgotten”, and even that legal system that had been built and which had provided stability, because the rules are disregarded or not applied, and this “is not only a way of conducting hostilities or the desire to end conflicts, but rather the realization of that principle of fait accompli which manifests itself in the will of governors and governed”.
In short, ” the development of international relations is subject to constant change and those who operate in them know well that the success of the processes for determining true peace , as well as the construction of institutions capable of governing situations to prevent and resolve conflicts, are the fruit of loyal collaboration carried out in good faith and with mutual respect.”
The task of the new ecclesiastical academics, therefore, is to find a new way of thinking to overcome international dramas . But what is the history of this institution?
Founded in 1701, during the pontificate of Pius VI, the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy was initially intended for the training of noble ecclesiastics who were in Rome to perfect their theological and legal studies.
Over time, the Academy became a breeding ground for papal diplomats, although this was not its original intention . It was Pius IX who initiated this transformation in 1850, drawing inspiration from similar French and English institutions, although initially it was more of a school of public administration. But public administration ceased with the fall of the Papal States in 1870, and so only the diplomatic career remained.
The internal study program of 1876 also touched on topics such as production , labor, trade, credit, tax systems and financial economics, and in some ways anticipated the contents of Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum , which was from 1891.
It was Leo XIII himself who introduced the most significant innovations, with a regulation of 1899 which established a competition for access to the diplomatic career , and another which dealt with theological training.
From 1898 to 1903 the president was Rafael Merry del Val , who defined the new academic program, which on the one hand modernized the preparation of diplomats and on the other did not neglect priestly formation.
In 1919, the Pope decided that young diplomats would not retire unless they had first spent a period of one or two years in Rome.
In 1969, Paul VI published the motu proprio Sollicitudo omnium ecclesiarum , which reaffirmed the Pope’s duty to be adequately present in all regions of the earth and that, for this reason, he should have “ambassadors”.
With the Praedicate Evangelium In 1922, Pope Francis confirmed the Academy as an internal body within the Secretariat of State, in close collaboration with the Third Section for diplomatic personnel. Then, with the chirograph “The Petrine Ministry” of March 25, 2025, Pope Francis designated the Academy as an Institute ad instar Facultatis. for the study of Diplomatic Sciences, with the aim of ensuring that the intellectual formation of students is up to the complexity of contemporary international relations, in their legal, political, economic, environmental, and cultural aspects, keeping the spiritual and pastoral dimension of the diplomatic ministry at its core.
Professor Buonomo emphasized that the Academy “through the aims of its education and research programs ” positions itself as “an integral part of the Secretariat of State, within which it operates and to whose control it is subject on a special basis.”
For his part, Ambassador Poulides remarked, ” We, lay diplomats, admire the nature of your mission. While our commitment primarily protects the interests of our nations, your vocation draws on that synthesis between faith and reason that Pope Benedict XVI indicated as the royal road, recalling that ‘not to act according to reason is contrary to the nature of God.’ It is this fidelity to the Logos, to the rationality of good, that allows you to move with a freedom that transcends political contingencies and places you as interlocutors between the parties , at the service of an authentically universal harmony.”
According to the dean of the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See, reaching out to the world’s peripheries is a true mission because diplomacy is called to be a voice for the voiceless. Looking to ambassadors of peace: the Venerable Servant of God Pius XII, Saint John XXIII, and Saint Paul VI, who worked in conflict situations, Poulides emphasized that the Holy See has always been a “voice of peace,” of dialogue with all.