The political Pope: does the

Vatican have diplomatic clout?

S U N DAY 17 MAY 2015
Pope Francis names two Palestinian women as saints just days after the Vatican
formalised its de facto recognition of the Palestine state. Channel 4 News takes a
look at his other political battles.

Object 1

The canonisation of Sister Marie-

Alphonsine Danil Ghattas, founder of the Sisters of the Most Holy Rosary of
Jerusalem, and Maryam Baouardy, who founded a Carmelite convent in
Bethlehem, was not directly connected with the Vatican's Wednesday
announcement of a new accord with the State of Palestine.
But the ceremony, attended by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and a
delegation of senior clergy including the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fouad Twal,
highlighted Pope Francis' drive to help embattled Christian communities in the
Middle East.
Palestinian question
Abbas, whom the pope called "an angel of peace" when the two met on Saturday,

said in a statement the example of the two newly canonised saints "affirms our
determination to build a sovereign, independent and free Palestine based on the
principles of equal citizenship".

He called on Palestinian Christians not to emigrate "but to stay with us and enjoy
the rights of full and equal citizenship, and bear with us the difficulties of life until
we achieve liberty, sovereignty and human dignity."
The move, however, has angered US Republican critics, arguing that the Vatican
has gradually become more politicised.
Republican congressman Jeff Duncan, a member of the Israel Allies Foundation,
said: "It's interesting how the Vatican has gotten so political when ultimately the
Vatican ought to be working to lead people to Jesus Christ and salvation, and
that's what the Church is supposed to do.
"Now the Pope is legitimising a Palestinian state without requiring those who get
recognition to recognise Israel as a Jewish state."
Rep. Jeff Duncan


@RepJeffDuncan
Also disappointed that there is no requirement in Papal recognition 4 Palestinians to
acknowledge Israel's right 2 exist #StandWithIsrael
2:55 PM - 15 May 2015
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An Israeli foreign ministry official described the Vatican's move as a
f
a"disappointment" and indicated that it may lead to reprisals, although he did not
v
osay of what kind.
r
i"This does not promote the peace process and a Palestinian return to
t
negotiations,"
the official said. "Israel will study the agreement and consider its
e
snext steps accordingly."
The Vatican is thought to have become increasingly proactive in foreign policy
under Pope Francis, with the leader of the Catholic world even set to deliver a
speech to a joint session of congress this autumn.
Armenian massacre
He was also criticised for his stance on the mass killings of Armenians during the
First World War, describing the atrocity as "genocide", although Turkish authorities
have always denied that the deaths of 1.5 million people amounted to a
systematic extermination.
The Vatican's ambassador in Ankara was summoned in April by Turkish officials
after the Pope said during a mass marking the centenary of the slaughter, that it
is "widely considered 'the first genocide of the 20th century'".
Turkey said that they were "deeply sorry and disappointed" by the Pope's
comments adding that it had caused a "problem of trust".
US - Cuba relations
The Argentine pontiff was also commended for brokering a diplomatic thaw
between the US and Cuba, after inviting Cuban president, Raul Castro, to his
studio near the Vatican's public audience hall.

Castro said he was so impressed with the Pope that he was even considering
converting to Catholicism.
The Cuban president, who is the brother of communist revolutionary leader Fidel,
said: "If the pope keeps going the way he's going, I'll come back to the Catholic
church.
I'll come back to the Catholic church.Raul Castro
"When the pope goes to Cuba in September, I promise to go to all his masses, and
with satisfaction.
"I am from the Cuban Communist party, that doesn't allow [religious] believers,
but now we are allowing it, it's an important step," Castro said.
The pontiff is said to have played a key role in secret negotiations between the US
and Cuba, which led to the surprise announcement in December that the two
countries would seek to restore diplomatic ties after more than 50 years of
tensions.
"Raul Castro thanked the Pope for his mediation between Cuba and the United
States," Federico Lombardi, a Vatican spokesman, said of the exchange, which
also focussed on the pontiff's forthcoming visit to Cuba.

Former Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said that Vatican diplomacy has
already seen Francis set a bolder, more personal stamp on its foreign policy.
He added: "He's someone who's capable of praying in the Blue Mosque in Istanbul
and then talking about the Armenian genocide. He's not someone who's bound by
political correctness.
"It's the diplomacy of a real leader."
Elections
Speaking about elections in his home country of Argentina in December, the Pope
said that candidates can become too beholden to donors who back their
campaigns.
"Because many interests come into play in financing of an election campaign and
then they ask you to pay back," he said in the interview with Crux magazine. "So,
the election campaign should be independent from anyone who may finance it."
The election campaign should be independent from anyone who may
finance it.
The Pope also said that a public finance system for elections would create more
transparency.

"Perhaps public financing would allow for me, the citizen, to know that I'm
financing each candidate with a given amount of money," he said.
Some quickly seized on his comments to make the case for reforming the
influence of money in American politics.
Republican congressman, John Sarbanes, an advocate of campaign finance
reform, tweeted his support for the pope's comments:
Rep. John Sarbanes

@RepSarbanes
Cool news! --> @Pontifex wants to fight special interests with public financing and return to
govt #bythepeople! hwapo.st/1AkZUSi
t
5:44 PM - 11 Mar 2015
t
p
Washington: Post @washingtonpost
/
/

Pope Francis has tackled a lot of tough issues. The latest? Money in...
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By Colby Itkowitz @ColbyItkowitz

Pope Francis has weighed in on the influence of money in politics.
View on web

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Bloomberg that the remarks were a welcome "call for an end to the contaminating
influence of money in our democracy."
Since assuming the papacy just over two years ago, he has also taken a relatively
moderate stance on tolerating gay individuals and acknowledged the role that
humans play in climate change.
Thorny issues
Only three months into his role, Francis told reporters during a visit to Brazil: "If
someone is gay and searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?"
In the same vein, he drove a deeper wedge between American conservatives and
the Catholic Church by acknowledging that climate change is mostly man's fault.
We have in a sense taken over nature.
"I don't know if it is all [man's fault] but the majority is, for the most part, it is man
who continuously slaps down nature," Francis told reporters. "We have in a sense
taken over nature."
Francis is expected to tell the planet's 1.2 billion Catholics why acting on climate
change is essential to the faith using an influential church document called an
encyclical, during an address to the UN general assembly in September.
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