US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo joined the Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States Archbishop Paul Gallagher today, at a symposium in the Vatican’s Old Synod Hall.
“Pathways to Achieving Human Dignity: Partnering with Faith-Based Organizations,” was co-hosted by the Secretariat of State and the US Embassy to the Holy See.
Ahead of the symposium the US Ambassador to the Holy See Callista Gingrich explained the importance of partnering with faith-based organisations. “They distribute aid to those in need, serve as lifelines for many communities and individuals experiencing severe hardships, and advocate for the oppressed. FBOs are valuable partners, with unparalleled access to local populations, and a fierce dedication to human dignity,” she said.
The symposium featured participation by representatives from prominent FBOs, including the Community of St’ Egidio, Aid to the Church in Need, the Adyan Foundation, the AVSI Foundation, Caritas Internationalis, and Talitha Kum. Their representatives joined together with US and Holy See officials from across departments and agencies, including the US Agency for International Development, the US Department of State’s Offices of International Religious Freedom and to Monitor and Combat Trafficking-in-Persons, the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, and the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.
In an interview with Catholic News Service before the symposium, Ms Gingrich declined to respond to questions about differences between the US Administration and the Vatican on immigration and on the detainment of asylum-seekers, including children.
“No two governments can agree on everything, but thankfully, we are aligned on a number of our most pressing issues,” she said.
In his address at the symposium, Archbishop Gallagher said that the “principal emphasis” of religious freedom should not be “political or ideological” but to “protect human rights” and peaceful co-existence. He said human trafficking, which affects “an estimated 20-30 million people around the world”, was among the “darkest and most reprehensible activities today.”
In his address, Mr Pompeo denounced authoritarian regimes and autocrats, linking religious oppression in Cuba, China and Syria and also in the Islamic Republic of Iran to the fact that “they fail to acknowledge a power higher than their own”.
“When the state rules absolutely, God becomes an absolute threat to authority. That’s why Cuba cancelled National Catholic Youth Day back in August,” Pompeo said. “That’s why Assad kills his own people, and has no regard for the 11 million Syrians suffering as displaced persons and refugees.”
“That’s why the Islamic Republic of Iran has jailed, tortured, and killed thousands of its own citizens for forty years. When the state rules absolutely, it demands its citizens worship government, not God. That’s why China has put more than one million Uighur Muslims in internment camps and is why it throws Christian pastors in jail.”
Turning to Myanmar, he said: “That’s how the Burmese security forces have been able to drive hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims out of their homes, in the most violent and brutal ways.”
“Today we must gird ourselves for another battle in defence of human dignity and religious freedom. The stakes are arguably higher than they were even during the Cold War, because the threats are more diverse and more numerous.”
In her CNS interview Ms Gingrich called the US relationship with the Holy See “one of our most important diplomatic partnerships today and one of the most consequential in our nation’s history.”
The symposium marled the 35th anniversary year of the establishment of formal diplomatic relations between the US and the Holy See.
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