All the Pope’s Diplomats
White smoke rose above the Sistine Chapel on May 8 to announce the election of Pope Leo XIV, the first Catholic pontiff born in the United States. As the new pope begins his tenure, attention is turning to the legacy of his predecessor, Pope Francis.
Fletcher alumnus Victor Gaetan has spent years covering Vatican foreign policy. In his 2021 book, God’s Diplomats, and a recent article in Foreign Affairs, he explored the diplomatic legacy of Pope Francis. Gaetan spoke with Fletcher about his career, his reporting and what Francis leaves behind on the global stage.
The Fletcher School: Tell us about your background and how you came to Fletcher.
Victor Gaetan: I came to Fletcher after the Sorbonne, where I studied the Byzantine and Ottoman civilizations. Fletcher was a natural continuation of my studies, given the importance of those two civilizations in diplomatic history.
At Fletcher, I met fascinating faculty who were not only scholars but also had firsthand experience in the international field. For example, I studied under a professor who had been a special advisor to Presidents Lyndon Johnson and John F. Kennedy, participating in presidential meetings with foreign leaders. I had professors who were concurrently working as consultants to federal agencies or who testified before congressional committees during the academic year.
These professors backed their assigned reading lists with firsthand practice in diplomacy. They invited small groups of students to dinners at their homes, where we discussed treaties and negotiations that they had worked on.
At the time, we were witnessing the establishment of relations between the United States and the People’s Republic of China. Fletcher was at the heart of that diplomatic work. One of the first Chinese ambassadors to the United States came to speak to a group of 100 Fletcher graduate students and professors, taking our questions and it gave me the feeling of diplomacy.
How did you go from Fletcher to reporting on Vatican foreign policy?
While studying at Fletcher, I was a resident of Cambridge, Massachusetts. I sought an internship with the member of Congress, who at the time was Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill. Luckily, he gave me an internship in his Washington, DC office.
At his Washington office, I witnessed a presentation by the Maryknoll nuns. They came regularly to inform Speaker O'Neill and provide documentation on the plight of religious minorities in China and North Korea. Few people knew that Tip O’Neill, a liberal Irish American, was a devout Catholic who monitored the persecution of Christians in Asia.
The speaker invited me to join these meetings and continue correspondence with the Maryknoll nuns. I myself come from communist Romania, where the Catholic church was also suppressed. I began to read more about the church and international issues, interview more people and contribute to the National Catholic Register, a Catholic newspaper which expanded its coverage and is now part of the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) media company, which is present in about 140 countries.
Fletcher offers courses on small state diplomacy. Given that the Vatican is both the world’s smallest nation-state and the spiritual home to over a billion people, how should we think about its role in global affairs?
Vatican diplomats don't brag about their work, but they play a significant role. For example, the Vatican is a permanent observer at the United Nations. It has bilateral diplomatic relations with 184 countries and a corps of ambassadors called nuncios, supported by a small professional staff and complemented by the church’s vast network of priests and laypeople around the world.
Vatican diplomats are considered useful mediators by their secular peers and are asked for advice in many situations. Because they work with people throughout the social and political spectrums, they are very well-informed. State actors often view the Vatican as a reliable mediator, because it does not have traditional political, military or trade interests. It can approach diplomacy with impartiality in an independent manner, detached from a secular government's approach to foreign policy.
Are all Vatican ambassadors priests, or can laypeople serve in these roles?
All diplomats of the Holy See are priests. From the church’s perspective, all priests are also diplomats, to a certain degree. As priests, they are discreet and they are good listeners. They practice and counsel values of compassion and forgiveness.
Priests who serve as formal ambassadors train at the world’s oldest school of diplomacy in Rome, called the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy. However, in my book, God’s Diplomats, I offer examples of priests who did not study at the academy but engage in political mediation processes. A bishop in Zimbabwe helped convince Robert Mugabe to peacefully resign after 40 years in power. There are similar stories anywhere from Mozambique to Panama.
What was Pope Francis’s legacy in world affairs?
Francis represented a departure from the Western-centric approach to the world, appointing more cardinals from countries that had never had a previous cardinal, than any pope had before. These cardinals expand the diplomatic reach of the Holy See. Francis emphasized Asia in particular, where 60% of the global population lives and where the Catholic church plays a growing role.
Francis’s last major foreign trip was to four countries in Asia: Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, and Singapore. This was the longest trip of his pontificate, lasting 12 days. Francis emphasized inter-religious dialogue in the visits to Buddhist-majority Singapore and to Indonesia, which has the world’s largest Muslim population.
Francis also promoted principles of diplomacy, seeking agreements without winners or losers. He believed that the church could have had a positive influence, which motivated him to seek a voice for the church in negotiations, providing the respective parties ask for papal mediation. Vatican diplomats cannot unilaterally step into negotiations.
How much control does the Pope individually have over the Vatican’s diplomatic position? Could the next pope dramatically change diplomatic policy?
The pope is the supreme monarch and the ultimate decider on matters of diplomacy.
Still, every pope inherits an enormous, seasoned network of diplomats. The pope can empower them to simply continue their work. As archbishop of Buenos Aires, Pope Francis did not like to travel or participate in faraway political conferences. He always sought to return home from Rome, which he considered unhealthy for his faith, as soon as possible.
Vatican diplomacy under Francis was shaped by his unique charisma and ability to develop personal relationships, which may be difficult for his successors to replicate. He strengthened relations with both the Russian Orthodox patriarch and the ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople – traveling so frequently with the latter that the media jokingly likened their relationship to a “bromance.” Francis also rebuilt strained relationships with Sunni and Shia leaders in the Middle East after the invasion of Iraq and controversies generated by comments considered offensive to Islam from his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI. His respected standing with both the Castro brothers and U.S. leaders enabled his successful mediation in restoring diplomatic ties between the United States and Cuba.
Speaking of the United States, how would you characterize recent relations between the Vatican and major powers – the U.S., China and Russia?
The Holy See worked throughout the Cold War to build contacts with communist authorities in order to gain space for Catholic communities. Pope John Paul II, who was from Poland, was very engaged in this effort.
I met some of the first Vatican diplomats dispatched to communist countries in the 1970s and 1980s. As early as 1988, the Vatican was engaged in active dialogue with Mikhail Gorbachev and building ties with the Russian Orthodox Church. Full diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union were established in 1990, shortly before its collapse and the emergence of the Russian Federation. Benedict XVI strengthened these connections, establishing full diplomatic relations with Russia. Next, Francis was the first pope to meet a Russian patriarch.
Full diplomatic relations between the Vatican and the U.S. weren’t established until 1984, after a highly contentious process. More than two-thirds of the U.S. Congress opposed the move, joined by prominent evangelicals like Pat Roberson and Jerry Falwell, as well as many on the left. Formal recognition ultimately required intervention from President Reagan and the courts.
The U.S. has sometimes clashed with the agenda of the Holy See. A major rupture came before the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Pope John Paul II sent delegations to President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell, advocating against intervention. John Paul II publicly criticized the war.
Disagreements with the U.S. expanded to the China relationship. John Paul II showed interest in engaging with China within weeks of his election. Engagement with China continued under Pope Benedict XVI with ups and downs. And Pope Francis reached an agreement with China that was criticized by the first Trump administration.
Until 2018, the Chinese government insisted it had the right to unilaterally appoint bishops, and the Holy See cannot accept bishops who are not vetted by the pope. The agreement stipulates that the Chinese government should present a list of two or three bishops to the pope, who then has ultimate say on their appointment. Thus, as a result of the 2018 provisional agreement signed by Beijing and Rome, the pope is recognized for the first time as the supreme leader of the Catholic Church.
It is important to note that the Vatican dialogue with China grew at the same time the U.S. was expanding its interests in China: boosting the country politically, militarily and economically. For many years, seminarians from China studied in the U.S., while American priests and theologians taught in China’s official seminaries. When the U.S. government changed its policy towards Beijing, it expected the Catholic Church to do the same. This led to political conflict between the Holy See and Washington, which culminated in rhetorical attacks during the 2020 presidential campaign.
What might the new Pope’s approach to global politics look like?
By selecting the name Leo XIV, Cardinal Robert Prevost signaled a deep respect for Leo XIII, the pope known for challenging American expansion in the Caribbean and Asia. Leo XIII’s time as pope marked the beginning of occasional tensions between the Vatican and U.S. interests, especially regarding foreign policy and workers’ rights. His groundbreaking encyclical Rerum Novarum laid the foundation for Catholic social teaching and still influences labor movements and public policy around the world.
Naturally, Pope Leo XIV’s early decisions will be closely compared to those of his predecessor. But the Catholic Church rarely makes sharp turns. It evolves gradually, balancing continuity with change.
It’s also worth noting that Prevost’s path to the papacy was shaped under Pope Francis during a time of crisis in Peru. Appointed bishop of Chiclayo, he played a key role in confronting corruption within the Peruvian church, under Francis’s direct supervision.
Now, as the first American pope, how will Leo XIV navigate U.S. policies, especially if military force continues to be prioritized over democracy? Will he weigh in on the issue of immigration and deportations? On Gaza? On denuclearization? These matters will be hugely interesting to follow.
What was it like to report on these issues during a conclave?
It’s been a fascinating time. I’ve been interviewed as a subject matter expert more than I have conducted my own interviews. I’m still working on several articles. To report on the conclave, it’s important to understand different languages and consume media from different countries. I speak English, French, Romanian and Italian. It’s also important to gain the trust of Vatican sources, especially bishops and cardinals who might answer a question or return a call.
More of Victor Gaetan’s writings and analysis are collected on victorgaetan.org.