TOWARD A NEW GOVERNMENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM: ANALYSIS OF THE PROPOSAL OF POPE FRANCIS

Abstract

In a sign of continuity with his predecessors, the first Latin American Pope pays attention to diplomacy and representative democracy. Thus, although he is sometimes not perceived in this way, Francis has not neglected traditional level of interaction that the Church has managed to maintain in its long history, generally alternating moments of conflict and cooperation, and not without taking it into account when defining their own models of authority: the link with states. If attention to the community of states, it is not in itself something new for the Vatican, it certainly is the approach and the agenda emphasis that every pontiff has made of international relations. Thus, the article seeks to answer a series of questions: What newness does Pope Bergoglio contribute to “diplomacy”? Is the Pontiff’s proposal for international governance comparable to a world state? Moreover, how does Francisco’s position on the international system articulate with the “reform of the papacy”? More concretely, how does the Pope conceive the mission of the central government of the Church and of papal diplomacy? Finally, what role does Latin America play in the planetary scheme of the Bishop of Rome? The article points out that Francisco proposes a new international political institution, and he understands that in the current critical world situation, diplomacy has a particular relevance. It is also stressed that for the Pope the central government of the Church and diplomacy must be at the service of building bridges for the promotion of justice and peace. In addition, the article says that the peoples and cultures of Latin America and the Caribbean have a potential that the Pontiff values positively.