Posted on 08/27/2022 6:32:18 PM PDT by marshmallow
COMMENTARY: This diplomatic policy means that Catholics under persecution by repressive regimes such as Nicaragua, China and Venezuela should not expect rhetorical support from the Vatican.
In response to the persecution of the Church in Nicaragua, the Holy See is strictly observing the Gallagher Protocol.
But the Gallagher Protocol is not being observed elsewhere, not even in Italy. As cardinals from around the world head to Rome this week, will Archbishop Gallagher himself be able to persuade them to stifle their protests over a brother bishop taken away by Daniel Ortega’s regime?
In June 2021, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States — often called the Vatican’s “foreign minister” — explained why the Holy See was silent on the fierce persecution of the Church in Hong Kong.
“One can say a lot of, shall we say, appropriate words that would be appreciated by the international press and by many parts of the world,” Gallagher said. “But I — and, I think, many of my colleagues — have yet to be convinced that it would make any difference whatever.”
Call it the Gallagher Protocol. It means that Catholics under persecution by regimes unmoved by diplomatic protests should not expect rhetorical support from the Vatican. The fiercer the repression, the less the Vatican says.
The Gallagher Protocol explains why the Holy See is expansive, if not exhaustive, regarding climate change, immigration, conventional and nuclear armaments, financial speculation, debt reduction, use of plastics and unemployment. It might also explain why some world conflicts — the Rohingya in Myanmar, for example — earn papal condemnation, but repression in China, Venezuela and Nicaragua do not. The Holy See’s diplomats, led by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State, and Archbishop Gallagher, do not believe it would make any difference.
(Excerpt) Read more at ncregister.com ...
This pope isn’t called “The Red Pope” for nothing.
Red Pope Ping
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