Francis Rooney, former ambassador to the Holy See, told Newsmax on Thursday that the world can benefit from the diplomatic "soft power" of the papacy, adding that he expects the new Pope will carry on the legacies of Pope Benedict and Pope Francis in the quest for world peace.
Rooney, who served as ambassador from 2005-08 under former President George W. Bush, joined "National Report" as the world awaits a successor to Pope Francis from the conclave in Vatican City.
"I think that the conflicts and problems around the world right now desperately need the Holy See's soft power, the ability of the church through the Pope and the secretary of state, etc. to bring issues to the fore without a territorial agenda and be listened to," Rooney said. "Pope Benedict was very effective at that. Pope Francis was effective about it, too, like when he did the clandestine negotiations with [Raul] Castro under President [Barack] Obama to reopen the embassy. I thought that was a very unique display of Papal ability.
"Now I would say, however, though, that I hope the new Pope uses the traditional Holy See diplomatic apparatus instead of kind of going off on their own, like Pope Francis did in the Ukraine."
Pope Francis was criticized for saying in 2024 that Ukraine should "raise the white flag" in the war with Russia, which began with Russia's invasion in 2022. Ukrainian Catholic leaders also panned Pope Francis' outreach to Russian President Vladimir Putin shortly after the invasion, calling it a "disaster."
That aside, Rooney asserted that the Pope has a "unique" role to impact conflicts around the world.
"I think the Pope is in a unique position to do that, to bring to bear a message which is unimpeachable, doesn't represent any secular interest," Rooney said. "Pope Benedict spoke many times about human dignity and human rights. Pope Francis talked about the suffering of the marginalized peoples. We need all that stuff. We need both of the two benefits of the both kinds of Popes to help the world right now."
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