Church in the World

Pope voices Vatican’s concern over drift towards a new Cold War

Giving voice to growing concerns in the Vatican that Russia and Nato were heading towards a new Cold War, Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday urged world leaders to "head off the return of nationalistic contra-positions that produced such tragic consequences" in the past.

"The international situation these past weeks reveals a crescendo of tensions that is seriously worrying," the Pope said on 23 August after reciting the Angelus at Castel Gandolfo. "We must note, with bitterness, the risk of a progressive deterioration of that climate of trust and collaboration between nations which should, instead, characterise their relations," he added.

The Pope's words came as the growing rift between the Russian Federation and nations in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation deepened in the wake of the recent war in Georgia and plans by the United States to locate an anti-missile system in Poland. Russia announced on 21 August that it had suspended all military cooperation with Nato.

"Violence must be repudiated!" Pope Benedict warned, punctuating a week of lead articles in the Vatican's daily paper which fretted over the resurgence of a "cold war climate".  The Pope said the only way to ensure "fruitful and sincere relations" between nations was through the "moral force of law [and] fair and transparent talks aimed at resolving controversies, beginning with those linked to the relationship between territorial integrity and self-determination of peoples, fidelity to one's word [and] a search for the common good".

The Pope said it was important not to give in to pessimism, and to fight the "temptation to face new situations with old systems". He asked people to pray that all members of the international community - especially those "invested with greater responsibility" - might work with generosity to restore the "superior reasons" of peace and justice.

"Nato and European Union in identity crisis," said a front-page headline in the 25-26 August issue of L'Osservatore Romano. "The recent decision by Russia to suspend its working relationship with the Atlantic Alliance following the signing of an agreement to put American missile systems on Polish territory represents another harsh blow to the international order," wrote editorialist Luca M. Possati. He noted that Moscow had responded to the deal by threatening to put its own missiles in Syria. And he warned that the West could not afford to isolate Russia. "The excessive fragmentation of international politics and the lessening of a common vision risked producing contradictory and inefficient effects," Mr Possati said.

"The multilateral system is in a sort of crisis," said Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Holy See's permanent observer at the United Nations in Geneva. "There is a certain unrest and a difficulty in working together in the international field," he told Vatican Radio on 22 August. "There is a fear of the ineffectiveness and lack of results in discussions over the past several years regarding disarmament, especially nuclear disarmament," he said, noting that fear will only grow if multilateralism continues to be pushed aside by nationalism and protectionism.