To Members of the Diplomatic Corps Accredited to the Austrian Government (11 September 1983)

On Sunday, 11 September 1983, the Holy Father addressed Members of the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Austrian Government at the Headquarters of the Apostolic Nunciature of Vienna. The Pope said to them, “If diplomacy and politics today must correspond to the expectations placed on them, fundamental spiritual and ethical values ​​must be inserted into the objectives of the people and respected in their achievement.”

Your Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen

1. It is a particular joy for me, after my meeting with the highest representatives of the Austrian State, to also meet this evening with you diplomats accredited to this Government. I thank you for your presence and for the honor you pay not only to me but also to the Head of the Catholic Church. Together with the host of the Apostolic Nunciature, which has also been my residence for a few days, I extend my most cordial welcome to everyone. A meeting with members of the Diplomatic Corps became a constant rule of almost all my pastoral trips. With this I wish to express the great esteem that the Holy See shows for your commitment and for understanding and harmonious collaboration between peoples. Vienna particularly invites this. Vienna is precisely the place where the position and duties of diplomatic representations were first established and formulated through international agreements. This occurred, as is known, with the Treaty of Vienna of 1815 and the Convention on diplomatic relations of April 1961.

2. Diplomatic representations are an important instrument of modern diplomacy. They are not limited only to protecting the bilateral interests between each of the States, but also extend their action to the fundamental needs and demands of the international community of peoples: the maintenance or re-establishment of peace, the promotion of fruitful collaboration between governments and also the creation of humane, reasonable and lasting relationships between peoples through common and loyal agreements.

Diplomacy is rightly defined as the "art of peace". We recognize, at the same time, the immense relevance and responsibility that your mission as diplomats entails today. The cry for peace that is rising ever louder in the hearts of men and in many parts of the world, in the streets and squares, seems to confirm the premonitions of those who, considering the current world situation, are already speaking of a transition to a post- -war to a new pre-war phase. That is why we need today, perhaps even more urgently than in the past, the courageous and continuous efforts of skillful diplomacy that applies with patience and constancy to oppose the voice of violence to that of reason, to alleviate existing tensions and to always reserve a space for dialogue, so that man's cry for peace is not one day suffocated by the noise of weapons.

Above all, sincere and loyal diplomacy is necessary, which renounces deceptive tricks, falsehood and intrigue, which respects the interests and demands of the parties and prepares, through a loyal willingness to negotiate, the path to a peaceful solution to bilateral and international conflicts. Disloyalty creates distrust precisely where trust is absolutely indispensable and in itself can be the basis for a lasting agreement. All those who desire peace encourage you — you, who, as diplomats, must be the builders of peace — not to lose confidence in the face of great difficulties, but rather to intensify with prudence and tenacity your commitment to the just cause of peace. peace. Although the decisive decisions will ultimately be taken at political headquarters, you, as diplomats, due to your particular position and knowledge of the situation, have the possibility of positively influencing the decisions of your governments.

3. As I had already highlighted in my speech to the United Nations — Excellent Ladies and Gentlemen — "The raison d'être of all politics consists in being at the service of man, in the tireless and responsible care of the fundamental problems and interests of his existence over the earth, in its dimension and social reach, on which at the same time the good of each person also depends" ( Speech of October 2, 1979 ). In this service to man, the difficult duties of the politician and diplomat are confronted with the particular mission of salvation of the Church, which is directed towards the good of man as a whole and of all humanity. The Church shares the concern of those responsible for States and societies, especially when it comes to preserving and promoting such important goods as peace, justice, human dignity, human rights, reconciliation and collaboration between peoples. Not for political ambition, but for the sake of man and by virtue of its own mission, the Church strives to offer its moral support and all possible concrete help to this objective, also using the means and means of diplomacy. worthy of trust, which is a great instrument of peace.

As is known, the Holy See has diplomatic representations in several States, many of which are represented here. The Vienna agreement, mentioned at the beginning, also officially recognizes for pontifical representatives the possibility of a certain priority among diplomats — a custom that in the past was already provided for by international law. This is not so much a recognition of the person of the pontifical representative, as a demonstration of respect for those spiritual and moral values ​​that the Church represents in the international community of peoples, whose priority was, in a theoretical sense, thereby recognized as fundamental by the signatory States.

4. In accordance with the mission of the Church, the diplomacy of the Holy See is also fundamentally of a religious and spiritual nature, and for this reason it is capable of making a specific contribution in the interplay of the international forces of Nations to the achievement of pre-set objectives. If diplomacy and politics today must correspond to the expectations placed on them, fundamental spiritual and ethical values ​​must be inserted into the objectives of the people and respected in their achievement. History and experience teach how futile international efforts for peace or efforts for justice and social progress become, when only the symptoms of existing evils are combated and not at the same time also the causes, which are wrong behaviors and attitudes.

The Second Vatican Council reaffirmed this in its Pastoral Constitution on the Church in today's world : "Heads of State, guarantors of the common good of their own nation and equally promoters of the common good of the world, depend greatly on opinion and mentality. of the crowds. There is no point in insisting on the construction of peace, while feelings of hostility, contempt or distrust, racial hatred and obstinate ideologies divide men into opposing camps" ( Gaudium et spes , 82). To effectively combat existing evils and imminent dangers in private and public life, it is necessary to change man himself, renew him morally and give him strength. For this fundamental task, State and Church must work together. The important contribution that the Church and Christians can make is evident.

Excellent Ladies and Gentlemen! As diplomats, in your difficult mission full of responsibility for the cause of peace and justice, for international collaboration and the general progress of peoples, you are always aware of the solidarity aid of the Church and the Holy See. The high values ​​for which you you commit to the noble art of peace in favor of the international community, including your own, your families and the people you represent here. I promise you this and I ask you with all my heart.

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