{"id":136170,"date":"2025-05-09T09:05:37","date_gmt":"2025-05-09T07:05:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/sala_stampa\/archivionotizie\/\/2025\/05\/tajani-una-chiesa-che-rassicuri-il-mondo-deve-ascoltarlo-troppi-focolai-di-guerra-il-messaggero\/"},"modified":"2025-05-09T13:32:13","modified_gmt":"2025-05-09T11:32:13","slug":"tajani-una-chiesa-che-rassicuri-il-mondo-deve-ascoltarlo-troppi-focolai-di-guerra-il-messaggero","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/sala_stampa\/archivionotizie\/interviste\/2025\/05\/tajani-una-chiesa-che-rassicuri-il-mondo-deve-ascoltarlo-troppi-focolai-di-guerra-il-messaggero\/","title":{"rendered":"Tajani: \u201cA Church that reassures. The world must listen: too many flashpoints of war\u201d (Il Messaggero)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Antonio Tajani, the Christian, gets straight to the heart of the matter. Pope Leo XIV, appearing before the world from the Loggia of Blessings, \u201cspoke of God, he prayed \u2014 there\u2019s a return to spiritual depth that, as a believer, truly moved me\u201d. Tajani, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, is instead struck by the Pope\u2019s firm call for peace, \u201cunarmed and disarming,\u201d in the tradition of Pope Francis. \u201cThe world is riddled with wars between Christians \u2014 they must stop. Let us hope they listen to this Pope\u201d. The Deputy Prime Minister had just left the Quirinale. He tells Il Messaggero<\/em> that he was moved when the white smoke appeared in the sky above the Hill. In those moments, while the highest offices of the State were speaking of defence, arms and security, the habemus papam<\/em> from St Peter\u2019s Square seemed to suspend time.<\/p>\n

Minister, what happened inside that room?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWe stopped as soon as the news came in and looked each other in the eye. At the end of the day, we are Christians \u2014 Mattarella, Meloni, myself. We watched the Pope appear from the Loggia on a screen. I was moved\u201d.<\/p>\n

What kind of Church will that of Leo XIV be?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cFrom his first words, a Church for all \u2014 open to the world and the many wars afflicting it. Often wars between Christians. It is a frightened world, there is a lack of trust \u2014 there is a need for a reassuring Church\u201d.<\/p>\n

The first American Pope. Maybe Trump will return to Rome…<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIf he wishes, he\u2019ll be welcome\u201d.<\/p>\n

A Western Pope, ultimately.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThat is significant. But I am certain that Prevost will be a universal Pope, Catholic as the Church has been since its foundation. I\u2019m especially pleased that he was Bishop of Chiclayo, a Peruvian city I\u2019m deeply attached to\u201d.<\/p>\n

Why is that?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThat city remains with me. I visited the young people of the Comunit\u00e0 in Dialogo<\/em>, committed to fighting addiction \u2014 just like the Trivigliano community that I closely follow with Father Matteo Tagliaferri. I remember the people in Peru speaking of Bishop Prevost with deep affection\u201d.<\/p>\n

What struck you most about Pope Leo?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cHis firm appeal for peace. We live in a frightened world, wounded by wars with uncertain outcomes \u2014 most recently the tensions between India and Pakistan. Now more than ever, we need a steadfast Pope, an anchor of salvation, able to speak to everyone. And there\u2019s more\u201d.<\/p>\n

What else?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cHis choice to speak about God, Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and the Gospel \u2014 a profoundly spiritual message. And that vestment he wore, in the tradition of Peter\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s return to his call for peace. What role can the Church play?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cA vital one. The Church has always worked for peace \u2014 from the world wars to many conflicts where its mediation proved decisive, such as in Mozambique. I hope world leaders listen to Prevost\u2019s message in St Peter\u2019s Square. God is peace\u201d.<\/p>\n

With Ukraine and Gaza, it\u2019s hard to remain hopeful these days.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cOn the contrary, we must and we can. And the Church can make a difference. I\u2019m thinking of the difficult negotiations to bring back Ukrainian children abducted to Russia, and of Pope Francis\u2019s concern for Gaza\u2019s civilians\u201d.<\/p>\n

Pope Francis\u2019s diplomacy has often been criticised \u2014 for his reluctance to take sides in the Ukraine conflict, and for his strong statements regarding the war between Israel and Hamas.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cSuch criticism is unfair. I remember Francis holding up the Ukrainian flag, his condemnation of the 7 October attacks, his continued support for Gaza\u2019s civilians\u201d.<\/p>\n

Now it\u2019s up to a missionary.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cA bearer of faith in the world \u2014 that\u2019s a fundamental aspect. Missionaries are architects of a diplomacy of solidarity, something we desperately need. That\u2019s why I dedicated a special G7 session in Pescara to them\u201d.<\/p>\n

Ethics, bioethics, civil rights. On these issues, Prevost may not fully align with Francis. Do you hope so?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cRender unto Caesar what is Caesar\u2019s. As a Christian, I am in favour of defending life in all its forms. But the laws of a secular state are, and must remain, separate from Church doctrine\u201d.<\/p>\n

Which Popes were you most attached to?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve seen many come and go. I was born during the time of Pius XII \u2014 he marked my childhood, a very solemn Pope. John Paul II was a saint, Ratzinger a master of faith \u2014 each one had their strengths. What I do see is continuity \u2014 in the efforts of these Popes for peace. From Pius XII \u2014 we remember the photo of his bloodied vestment in San Lorenzo after the bombings of Rome \u2014 to Pope Francis. I\u2019m certain that Pope Leo XIV will follow those same footsteps\u201d.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s end with Rome, which in recent months has returned to being the capital of diplomacy and the global Church.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIndeed, and not only because of what happened in the Vatican. I\u2019m thinking of the meeting between Iran and the United States hosted in the capital, and of a city rediscovering itself as the beating heart of Christianity. No leader in the world has the power to draw attention like a Pope when he steps onto the Loggia of St Peter\u2019s Square. Rome has proven worthy of this role, and we will ensure it remains so in future with the institutional reform that gives the capital the importance it deserves\u201d.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Antonio Tajani, the Christian, gets straight to the heart of the matter. Pope Leo XIV, appearing before the world from the Loggia of Blessings, \u201cspoke of God, he prayed \u2014 there\u2019s a return to spiritual depth that, as a believer, truly moved me\u201d. Tajani, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, is instead struck by the Pope\u2019s […]","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":136133,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[9,28],"class_list":["post-136170","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interviste","tag-europa","tag-ministro"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136170","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=136170"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136170\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":136171,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136170\/revisions\/136171"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/136133"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=136170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=136170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=136170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}