Cardinal Parolin: Europe must recover the ‘spirit of Helsinki’
December 14, 2022
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CWN Editor's Note: Reflecting on the war in Ukraine, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Holy See’s Secretary of State, referred to the 1975 Helsinki Accords, in which the Soviet Union pledged respect for human rights in return for a recognition of post-World War II Soviet gains in Eastern Europe.
The prelate’s reference to the Helsinki Accords could be interpreted as a simple call to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine—or as a subtle call to the international community to be willing to recognize Russian gains in Ukraine in return for peace.
“It is terrifying that there is talk of nuclear devices and atomic warfare as a possibility,” Cardinal Parolin warned. “The accelerated arms race is worrying, with huge investments of money used for war rather than to fight hunger, create jobs, ensure adequate medical care for people who have never had it.”
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Posted by: Randal Mandock -
Dec. 14, 2022 1:20 PM ET USA
I don't often agree with Cardinal Parolin, but he is correct in decrying Biden's and Western Europe's World War III against Russia through its Ukrainian proxy. Instead of draining U.S. and Western arsenals, not to mention paying the salaries of Ukrainian government employees and the pensions of Ukrainian government retirees, Biden and Western Europe should be more concerned with the tens of millions of innocent men, women, and children being trafficked and enslaved around the world annually.
