The Vatican Secretary of State speaks at a Conference hosted by the Italian Embassy to the Holy See in Rome about the need to find new diplomatic ways to end the war in Ukraine by drawing inspiration from the historic “Helsinki Conference” in the Seventies during the Cold War.
By Lisa Zengarini
In the face of the “fratricidal barbarism underway in Ukraine” and of the nuclear threat looming over the world, Europe must recover the “Spirit of Helsinki,” and follow “new paths of peace”.
The conference
The Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin stated this point on Tuesday as he spoke at a conference on the ongoing war in Eastern Europe hosted by the Italian Embassy to the Holy See in Rome, and organized in collaboration with Vatican Media and the Italian geopolitical Journal ‘Limes’
The aim of the event, entitled “Europe and war. From the Spirit of Helsinki to prospects of peace” was to discuss concrete diplomatic solutions to a war that seems to be at a deadlock with no prospect of peace talks any time soon.
Discussions focused on the “Helsinki Declaration”, the landmark pact signed in 1975 by the Western powers and the Soviet Union at the closing the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) with the aim of improving East-West relations .
We must not become accustomed to the horrors of the war in Ukraine
Cardinal Parolin started his keynote speech by warning once again against the risk of becoming accustomed to the war in Eastern Europe.
“For nine months, since the beginning of the aggression perpetrated by the army of the Russian Federation, we have been witnessing the ‘mistakes’ and ‘horrors’ “, of the conflict, with the result, he said, that we now pay almost “no attention to the news of the hail of destructive missiles, of the many civilians who die, of children being left under the rubble, of soldiers being killed, of displaced people, and of a devastated country”.
According to Cardinal Parolin, Pope Francis’ tears on 8 December during the traditional homage and prayer at the foot of the monument to the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception in Rome, are a powerful antidote against this risk “of habit and indifference”.
Hence the need, he said, to reiterate his appeal to use all diplomatic efforts to attain “a ceasefire and a just peace”.
The risk of a nuclear war
Despite some “glimmers” of hope for peace that gìhave emerged in the past weeks, the Vatican Secretary of State lamented that the escalation still continues and, with it, the threat of a nuclear war.
Reviving the “Spirit of Helsinki”
In the light of this, Cardinal Parolin underscored the need “to ask ourselves if we are doing everything possible to put an end to this tragedy”.
He noted in this regard that, although the experience of the Helsinki Process and the armaments control talks of Cold War times cannot be repeated in the present circumstances, there still are the conditions for reviving the “spirit of Helsinki”, “working creatively”. “We need to address this war and the many forgotten wars, with new tools”, he said.
A new European peace conference
Europe should therefore work for a new European peace conference. By doing so, he said it “may once again be the beacon of a civilization founded on peace, law and international justice”.
For its part added, the Holy See “is ready to do everything possible to encourage this process”.
Cardinal Parolin concluded his address by quoting Pope St. Paul VI ‘s words in his historic address to the United Nations in 1965:
Other speakers at the Conference
Among other speakers in the event were the President of Italy Sergio Mattarella, Andrea Tornielli, editorial director of Vatican Media, and Andrea Riccardi founder of the Sant’Egidio Community.