Cardinal Parolin, in major lecture, decries violations of international law, collapse of multilateralism

January 19, 2026

In a lecture delivered on January 17, the Secretary of State of His Holiness emphasized that peace and justice should “once again become the pillars of order among nations, and not merely remain simple aspirations or empty claims.”

Cardinal Pietro Parolin addressed the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, where young priests are trained to become Vatican diplomats, on the occasion of its 325th anniversary, and in his capacity as the academy’s grand chancellor. While it is common for grand chancellors to address their institutes on significant occasions, it is uncommon for the Holy See Press Office to release the full text of such lectures, and in doing so, the Vatican signaled its importance.

“Despite the signs of war, the violations of human life, the destruction, the uncertainties, and a widespread sense of bewilderment that now prevail, voices continue to rise from different regions of the planet demanding peace and justice,” Cardinal Parolin said. “And this cannot leave indifferent especially those who work in the context of international relations, but requires the establishment of a new style, capable of providing answers to the many difficulties, in the certainty that in every corner of the earth there is an expectation of good, despite any possible uncertainty about the future.”

A breakdown of international law and multilateralism

At several points in his lecture, Cardinal Parolin spoke of the breakdown of international law and the multilateralism that emerged after World War II:

• “Suffice it to think of political decisions that find support only in the force of arms, or the will to power that inspires the language and manifestations on the international stage, finding its roots in behaviors that, due to their gravity and effects, go beyond the tragedies of war. In the phase we are living through, the international order is no longer the one that was outlined eighty years ago with the establishment of the UN, the United Nations system, and new forms of understanding and collaboration between States formulated according to international law and within the framework of international law.”
• “Faced with the dramatic events affecting the international order, it is not easy to explain why force replaces justice and war replaces peace. The difficulty is compounded by the knowledge that the consequences include the fragility of global structures, the increase in tensions even in situations that seemed reconciled, the rise in various types of international crime, and the widening gap between the levels of development of peoples and countries.”
• “Principles such as the self-determination of peoples, territorial sovereignty, and the rules governing war itself are being called into question. In fact, we are witnessing the relativization of the entire framework built by international law in areas such as disarmament, development cooperation, respect for fundamental rights, intellectual property, and trade and commercial transit.”

Speaking against the persecution of believers, the prelate spoke of the need for “religious security” amid other kinds of security:

Paradoxically, the very concept of security, now invoked for every action ranging from prevention to rearmament, requires an approach no longer limited to military and terrorism issues alone, but one that is open to guaranteeing food, health, educational, environmental, and energy security. This is without forgetting religious security, which must be ensured in the face of violence perpetrated against believers through the use of weapons, discrimination, and isolation; or through the instrumentalization of faith, the privatization of religious practice, and even indifference towards any transcendent dimension.

Cardinal Parolin—citing the teaching of Popes Benedict XV, Pius XII, John XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul II, Benedict XVI, Francis, and Leo XIV—said that the fostering of justice and peace is a cornerstone of the Holy See’s diplomacy.

The common good, violations of sovereignty, and preventive military actions

In the latter part of his lecture, Cardinal Parolin asked, “How can diplomacy combine today’s tragedies with the needs of a future of peace for peoples and countries? And therefore, how can the diplomat operate in relation to what is happening?”

Answering his questions, he spoke about “contributing to building the common good, which remains the primary objective of social life in every community, both national and international.”

“We can contribute to this process if we are aware that peace remains the fruit of justice and not merely a consequence of good actions,” he continued, citing St. Augustine. “This is an invitation that, for those with responsibility, is also a duty—especially in the face of the need to emerge from a profound crisis that disregards the values ​​upon which the Community of Nations has been gradually built and, consequently, also the norms that regulate its structure, societal balances, the sovereignty of States, and their political, institutional, and economic independence.”

He continued:

Faced with the violation of the binding principles of international law and the basic rules of coexistence in the society of states, and the use of conflict as the only method for governing international relations, we must overcome that sense of powerlessness that turns into anguish in the face of the use of force that destroys the aspirations of peoples, exacerbates inequalities, and plans unjust balances ...

Conscience and reason can no longer tolerate violations of sovereignty in their various forms, the forced displacement of entire populations, the alteration of the ethnic composition of territories, the deprivation of the means necessary for economic activity, or the limitation of freedoms.

Turning to preventive military actions, Cardinal Parolin said:

In the use of force that replaces rules, in forms of understanding based solely on the advantage and interest of a few, and in the inability to address common issues through solutions that involve everyone, we find the profound crisis suffered by the multilateral system of international relations ...

It seems to have been forgotten that the right of states to guarantee their own security, and with it the spaces of sovereignty and the social life of those who live in their territory, does not authorize them to activate preventive actions or attacks in ways increasingly distant from international legality. That legality, despite its many limitations, had given stability to the multilateral system, replacing the “just balance of power” present in international life with the prohibition of the use and threat of force—war and deterrence, therefore.

Contrasting multilateralism with multipolarism, the prelate expressed grave concern a new arms race:

From multipolarism, today as throughout history, it is clear that through the arms race it is only possible to achieve an armed peace or to establish an attitude of mutual distrust among states. The deterrence of weapons, the expansion of the arms industry and military research are the path to isolation and closure, as well as the basis for political, military, and economic choices justified to anticipate or confront hypothetical attacks. Those working in the field of diplomacy are well aware that the distinction between prevention and arbitrary action can easily be ignored if legal norms and the ethical and moral principles that inspire and guarantee their legitimacy are disregarded.

“The conviction has thus been generated that peace can only be achieved after the enemy has been effectively annihilated,” he added.” And the enemy can be a people, a nation, an institution, or an economic entity that opposes the vision of the strongest party at the time, forgetting that the category of the enemy is not a matter of chance, but is created by the play of power or the will to manifest it towards someone.”

The need for a renewed multilateralism

Calling for a renewal of multilateralism, Cardinal Parolin said:

A common contribution of ideas and concrete actions must aim to demonstrate how dangerous the attitude is of those who, without considering its scope and consequences, rely on conflict as a means of resolving every problem, ignoring any consideration of how inhuman and dehumanizing war is.

Likewise, a renewal of the various intergovernmental institutions should be encouraged, not only by eliminating any conditions or institutional structures that, in the face of threats to peace and violations of justice, hinder their work, but also by making them functional to the scenarios present today in the international community: protection of human life, elimination of underdevelopment, human mobility, transfer of expertise in new technologies, availability of natural resources, and so on.

This is not just a list of agendas, but these are the actual situations from which conflicts arise or wars break out, and which only multilateral action can prevent, resolve, or manage.

He concluded:

Practicing diplomacy means believing in our neighbor, in our fellow traveler, in those we meet to negotiate on objectives and differences, or with whom we share living spaces and relationships. And this with the intention and willingness to involve all those who influence the international context with such a disposition and methodology. Only in this way can we be true “peacemakers” capable of satisfying “those who hunger and thirst for justice” (Mt 5:3-10).

 

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Further information:

• Lectio Magistralis dell’Em.mo Cardinale Pietro Parolin, Segretario di Stato, Cardinale Protettore e Gran Cancelliere della Pontificia Accademia Ecclesiastica, 17.01.2026 (Holy See Press Office, 1/17/26)