Pope Francis took to Twitter to underscore the importance of multilateral diplomacy and cooperation for solutions to the world’s problems.
“How do we prevent conflicts? No people, no social group can single-handedly achieve peace, prosperity, security and happiness. None,” Pope Francis said.
“The lesson learned from the recent pandemic is the awareness that we are a global community, all in the same boat,” he said in a post on his Twitter handle, @Pontifex.
The pope made the statement on the occasion of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace Day on April 24.
The Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace Day was instituted on Dec. 12, 2018, and was observed for the first time on April 24, 2019.
Multilateralism, in the form of membership in international institutions, serves to bind powerful nations and discourage unilateralism, while giving small powers a voice and influence that they could not otherwise exercise.
In a report, Vatican News said Pope Francis and the Holy See have repeatedly stressed on the importance of multilateralism.
The pope dedicated a major discourse to multilateral diplomacy when he addressed the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See on Jan. 7, 2019.
“An indispensable condition for the success of multilateral diplomacy, is the goodwill and good faith of the parties, their readiness to deal with one another fairly and honestly,” said Pope Francis.
He warned that “whenever even one of these elements is missing, the result is a search for unilateral solutions and, in the end, the domination of the powerful over the weak.”
The following year, he told diplomats that there was a clear need to move again toward an overall reform of the multilateral system, beginning with the UN system, which would make it more effective.
He said diplomacy is called upon “to harmonize the distinctive features of the various peoples and states in order to build a world of justice and peace.”
In this year’s annual meeting with the diplomatic corps on Feb. 8, he reiterated his call for multilateralism.
“The democratic process calls for pursuing the path of inclusive, peaceful, constructive and respectful dialogue among all the components of civil society in every city and nation,” he said.
According to the UN’s Charter, one of the founding purposes and principles of the United Nations is to peacefully settle disputes and prevent war. - LiCAS.news
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
Latest News
