Moving behind the scenes in Vatican diplomacy is no easy task. It poses a challenge for any journalists who arrive to cover the inner workings of the smallest state in the world.
Loup Besmond was a correspondent for the French outlet La Croix for four years. As a result of that experience, he published this book, which for now is available in French.
In it, among other things, he explains why secrecy is the hallmark of the Vatican. According to the journalist, it is a tool that not only ensures the survival of the Holy See, but also fuels fantasies in the outside world.
LOUP BESMOND DE SENNEVILLE
La Croix Vatican Correspondent (2020–2024)
Why do they speak so little? They speak very little because they prefer it, but that’s classic diplomacy. All diplomacy works that way. They prefer to act in silence—if not in secrecy—because they believe it's more effective. So they are very active behind the scenes, so to speak, and much less so in public.
The Holy See is a hub of global information.
Loup describes it as a “network”. But who is in charge of information reaching this microstate and how do they do it?
It’s through religious men and women. They are present in almost every part of the world, and through the nuncio, the Vatican is consistently informed about what is happening on the ground.
LOUP BESMOND DE SENNEVILLE
La Croix Vatican Correspondent (2020–2024)
They’re not informants, meaning they don’t do espionage, they’re not spies, but they have that ability to ensure that everything happening on the ground makes its way back to Rome. You have to understand that Vatican diplomacy is, above all, a place of information. A center where all the world's informational developments are gathered.
This has led to nearly all countries—despite their religious, political, cultural, or social differences—wanting to maintain full diplomatic relations with the Holy See.
LOUP BESMOND DE SENNEVILLE
La Croix Vatican Correspondent (2020–2024)
Think of countries like Algeria, Iran, Turkey, which are not Catholic-majority countries at all. They each have an ambassador, and to me, that signals that they want to be close to the pope, close to the Vatican, but also in contact with all the information that’s held by the Secretariat of State and managed through Vatican diplomacy.
While it’s true that nearly all heads of state request an audience with the pope, or even ask him to help mediate conflicts, the Vatican’s actual political power today is not as great as it once was. Nowadays, it functions more as a global voice than as a true mediator.
LOUP BESMOND DE SENNEVILLE
La Croix Vatican Correspondent (2020–2024)
The paradox is that Vatican diplomacy, although very powerful for the Vatican itself due to its symbolic and historical weight, and its access to information, is actually made up of a small team. It’s a very fragile reality, and this isn’t widely known because people tend to imagine the Vatican as a superpower, which it is not. It’s actually quite artisanal, and a very small-scale reality.
That doesn’t mean symbolic gestures don’t take place with some rising to the level of diplomatic acts. For example, phone calls to Putin and Zelensky about the war in Ukraine, speeches during papal trips to political authorities, or even the very destinations chosen for apostolic visits.
LOUP BESMOND DE SENNEVILLE
La Croix Vatican Correspondent (2020–2024)
I remember very well, in particular, the meeting the pope had in Ur. That strong, emblematic speech in Iraq deeply moved me. That trip was prepared under special conditions in the Vatican due to the pandemic.
Papal trips are organized by the Secretariat of State, whose members also travel on the papal plane. Interestingly, during a pope’s visit to a country, they also hold bilateral meetings—every second is precious for smoothing out or strengthening diplomatic ties with that nation.
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