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Archbishop Gallagher: ‘Dialogue makes cooperation possible’
The Vatican Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations addresses a Seminar in Assisi during commemorations for the 800th anniversary of the death of St Francis.
By Vatican News
Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher said that genuine dialogue does not eliminate differences but creates the conditions for them to coexist through cooperation.
Speaking in Assisi on Monday, 7 September, the Vatican Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations addressed the opening of a seminar for theology professors and pastoral assistants of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, dedicated this year to St Francis and the paths of reconciliation.
The meeting took place in Assisi’s Sala della Conciliazione, which recalls a historic encounter between the Holy See and the Italian State. On 4 October 1926, during celebrations marking the seventh centenary of St Francis’ death, Cardinal Rafael Merry del Val, papal legate, met Pietro Fedele, Italy’s Minister of Public Education. The meeting helped pave the way for the formal negotiations that led to the Lateran Pacts of 1929.
“A willingness to meet”
Reflecting on that history, Archbishop Gallagher said that “no agreement is born without a willingness to meet”, while gestures of rapprochement must eventually be translated into “just and lasting rules.”
He recalled that the Lateran Pacts established a new framework for relations between the Holy See and Italy, while the 1984 revision of the Concordat reflected the principle that the Church and State remain independent in their respective spheres while cooperating “for the promotion of humanity and the good of the country.”
“Distinction, therefore, does not mean estrangement, and collaboration does not mean confusion,” he said.
Gallagher also recalled Pope Leo XIV’s description of Cardinal Merry del Val as a “true diplomat of encounter”, saying that authentic dialogue does not erase differences but seeks the conditions for their coexistence through loyal cooperation.
“May the Lord give you peace!”
The Archbishop concluded by turning to St Francis, recalling the saint’s words in his Testament: “The Lord revealed to me that we should say this greeting: ‘May the Lord give you peace!”
For St Francis, Gallagher said, peace is first of all a gift received. Diplomacy cannot create peace by itself, but it can prepare the human, political and legal conditions in which peace can take root.
The four-day seminar, which runs through 10 September, brings together theology professors and pastoral assistants for interdisciplinary reflection inspired by the spiritual legacy of St Francis, during the celebrations marking the 800th anniversary of his death.
Archbishop Gallagher addresses participants in the Seminar (@Università Cattolica)
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