Vatican diplomat speaks at Walsh Presidential discussion series

NORTH CANTON − During Archbishop Gabriele Caccia's visit to Walsh University, he noted the Saint John Paul II Center for Science Innovation, which opened in 2015.

The apostolic nuncio and permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations said it illustrates how religion and geopolitics often intersect.

Caccia and Bishop David Bonnar, head of the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown, spearheaded Walsh's Spring 2024 Presidential Thought Leadership Series. Caccia took part with a presentation called “Diplomacy in the Church and Why it Matters.”

The talk gave his audience an inside look at the Catholicism's impact on world affairs, and the church's role with the UN.

Walsh President Tim Collins called the April 3 event "a hallmark of leadership" in keeping with Catholic education, Christ's Great Commission, and Catholic social teachings.

"This series is about vigorous intellectual development," he said.

Caccia said St. John Paul II made history in 1978 by becoming the first non-Italian pope in nearly 500 years, and the first from Europe's Eastern Bloc. He died on April 2, 2005.

"I saw there was a John Paul II building," Caccia said, "And I was thinking, imagine when he was elected in 1978 − the majority of you were not here − it was the first-ever pope coming from the east, from a Slav country. Just the fact that he was elected created big trouble all over for the so-called Soviet Union and their satellite countries. It was not by chance, which is why they tried to kill him in St. Peter's Square. Just the fact that he was was a pope coming from another bloc, it's not by chance that during his pontificate, it was the end of the Soviet Union, and it came to an end without the shedding of blood. Usually when there's an end, there are killings and mass destruction."

Bonnar served as the moderator for the fireside chat with Caccio, who grew up in a village outside of Milan, Italy, and entered the seminary at 14.

"The only decision I took was becoming a priest," Caccia said. "I never decided − and I didn't even know − there was a diplomatic service in the Holy See."

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'The preparation comes from your life'

The Holy See is the supreme governing body of the Catholic church. It operates out of the Vatican.

Cacccia, who worked in the Vatican for 16 years, said he was asked by his bishop to serve in the Holy See's diplomatic corps.

"None of us decided to be diplomats," he said. "We were just priests."

In preparation, he attended a diplomatic school in Rome for four years.

"The real preparation for a diplomat is not just the skills for your office," Caccia said. "The preparation comes from your life. You have to be person who listens and understands. There is no school that prepares you for that."

Caccia said choosing "The Successor of St. Peter" has a big impact on the world, and that history helps to explain why the Holy See has a diplomatic corps. As the church spread and grew, so did its influence in non-church matters. By virtue of their office, popes had the power to influence Christian emperors' actions and behavior.

It also resulted in formal relationships between the Holy See and European countries.

"It started diplomatic relations," Caccia said. "The pope, in turn, would send representatives to other countries. There was a time in the 1870s when Italy took over the pontifical state, but other countries continued to send ambassadors to the Vatican."

The Lateran Palace Treaty forged between the Holy See and the Italian Parliament in 1929 recognized the Vatican's sovereignty and the formation of the Vatican City state, which is just 44 kilometers square.

"It's a kind of symbolic reality that allows the pope to be recognized by international courts as independent," Caccia said.

This matters, he said, because it prevents other countries from imposing laws on the church. He cited Turkey, which ruled in 2010 that the patriarch of Constantinople of the Orthodox church must be a citizen of Turkey. The government also has the power to veto any candidate for patriarch, while it refuses to recognize the title "Ecumenical Patriarch," which implies international leadership.

The UN stands on Four Pillars

"It frees the Holy See from the political pressure of others," Caccia said. "For instance, during World War II, Italy was part of a coalition with Germany but during that time, because of the treaty, Jews were saved inside the Vatican, as well as political opponents."

Caccia said most people don't fully understand what the 193-member United Nations does. The organization, he said, stands on Four Pillars. First is to spare succeeding generations from the scourge of war. Second is fostering human rights through the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The third is development.

"The reasons for war are injustice and disparities," Caccia said. "We have to work to make the world a place which works for everyone."

The fourth pillar, he said, is respect of the rule of law and treaties so that instead of resorting to violence, the UN offers countries a venue in which to take their grievances.

The Pillars, he said, are congruent with Catholicism.

"We are for peace, we are for human rights, we are for cooperation and charity and respect of law," he said.

In the UN, the Holy See and Palestine are "observer" states, or non-voting members.

"We wanted to be observers and not too political," Caccia explained. "We wanted to be a moral voice. We are unique because each country, in the end, tries to support and represent its national interests. If you ask us, what is our national interest? It is the good of humanity."

Reach Charita at 330-580-8313 or charita.goshay@cantonrep.com. On Twitter: @cgoshayREP.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Vatican diplomat is keynote speaker for Walsh discussion series