Cardinal Parolin: ‘Dialogue and development are the keys for peace’
Speaking at the Summit for the Future, Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin said the high-level UN event offers a reason for hope in the current crisis of multilateralism and calls for concrete actions for a safer, more peaceful, more sustainable and more inclusive world for future generations.
By Lisa Zengarini
Dialogue remains the key to resolving current global conflicts, promoting justice and peace, and restoring a sense of belonging to a global human family, Cardinal Pietro Parolin said Monday at UN headquarters in New York.
The “Pact of the Future”
The Vatican secretary of state was speaking at the UN Summit for the Future, which adopted a “Compact for the Future” aimed at strengthening global governance to address challenges ranging from conflict to climate change and human rights.
The historic declaration, in which world leaders committed to taking concrete steps towards a safer, more peaceful, more sustainable and more inclusive world for future generations, was adopted by consensus on Sunday, despite a last-minute amendment proposal from some countries.
Reasons for hope
In his speech, Cardinal Parolin stressed that the high-level event should be a “source and reason for hope” in the current context of the crisis of multilateralism, which, he said, is due in large part to an erosion of trust between nations.
This hope, he stressed, echoing Pope Francis, is not an optimistic naivety that ignores global challenges, but rather a willingness to work for a better future based on the principles of the inherent dignity of every human being, the promotion of integral human development and the equality and sovereign dignity of all nations.
Poverty eradication
Cardinal Parolin highlighted three key issues considered a priority by the Holy See, the most important of which is the fight against poverty. “The eradication of poverty must remain the primary objective of all future action, bearing in mind that development is the name of peace,” he said, noting that achieving this goal also requires political will to reform international financial institutions and implement debt cancellation strategies for the poorest countries.
Elimination of nuclear weapons
The Vatican Secretary of State then again called for total disarmament, especially the elimination of nuclear weapons. He called for setting aside geopolitical interests and resisting economic lobbies in order to “guarantee a future in which all human beings can enjoy integral development.”
Regulating AI
Recognizing the importance of technology for the future, Cardinal Parolin then highlighted the urgent need to regulate artificial intelligence (AI) and proposed a comprehensive regulatory framework that would address ethical concerns, including data protection, liability, bias, and the impact of AI on employment.
The head of Vatican diplomacy stressed the need to take into account the interests of future generations by creating the conditions for human flourishing, tackling challenges such as poverty, conflict and exploitation.
Reservations on reproductive health and gender rights
While welcoming the adoption of the “Compact for the Future,” Cardinal Parolin also expressed reservations about two controversial terms often used in UN statements: sexual and reproductive health rights and gender. In this regard, he reiterated the Holy See’s position on marriage as a union between a man and a woman and its opposition to the inclusion of abortion in reproductive health.
He also reaffirmed the conception of gender as rooted in biological sexual identity (male or female).
Concluding his speech, Cardinal Parolin called for the reestablishment of a “genuine dialogue” between nations, echoing Pope Francis’ call for decisive action in the face of rising conflict and global inequality: “If dignity is the foundation and integral human development the goal of our future, dialogue is the necessary means,” he said.
The Vatican Secretary of State arrived in New York on Sunday, September 22, and will remain until September 30 to participate in several high-level events on the occasion of the opening of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly. He is also expected to preside over a mass for the 60th anniversary of the General Assembly.th anniversary of the Permanent Mission of the Holy See to the UN.
