La médiation du pape François entre La Havane et Washington : rupture ou continuité dans la diplomatie pontificale ?

News of the role played by Francis, the first pope of the Americas, in the December 2014 rapprochement between Cuba and the United States raises a number of questions. The pope, at the request of both sides, called on Barack Obama and Raul Castro to overcome the obstacle of political prisoners which...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Marie Gayte
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Institut des Amériques 2017-12-01
Series:IdeAs : Idées d’Amériques
Subjects:
Online Access:http://journals.openedition.org/ideas/2191
id doaj-5122a4afd01d4b9cb6bd75b1b76e0017
record_format Article
spelling doaj-5122a4afd01d4b9cb6bd75b1b76e00172020-11-24T23:10:39ZengInstitut des AmériquesIdeAs : Idées d’Amériques1950-57012017-12-011010.4000/ideas.2191La médiation du pape François entre La Havane et Washington : rupture ou continuité dans la diplomatie pontificale ?Marie GayteNews of the role played by Francis, the first pope of the Americas, in the December 2014 rapprochement between Cuba and the United States raises a number of questions. The pope, at the request of both sides, called on Barack Obama and Raul Castro to overcome the obstacle of political prisoners which had hitherto hindered the talks. He then acted as guarantor of the agreement signed by both parties by hosting one of their final negotiating sessions at the Vatican. This article has several aims. It first purports to provide a first sketch of the papal mediation, and to explain the motivations leading Washington and Havana to turn to the Vatican, as well as the consequences of this mediation. It also aims at placing this intervention within the larger framework of the priorities of papal diplomacy − especially vis-a-vis Cuba − since John Paul II’s pontificate, which witnessed the first stages of a thaw between Rome and Havana.The Roman Catholic Church, now the regime’s privileged interlocutor, did agree to mediate between the two parties, after years of ignoring Washington’s requests to act as a catalyst for democratic transition on the island, along the lines of the role it had played in Poland in the 1980s. Yet, this does not mean a change in Vatican priorities. While Francis, through his actions, hopes to put the Holy See back at the center of the diplomatic stage, he thereby hopes to be able to promote concerns − such as defending Christians under threat, preserving for the church a space to carry out its mission and promoting dialogue between states − which have been central to the Church since it began playing an active role in international policy in the late 19th century.http://journals.openedition.org/ideas/2191good officesVaticanletterreligious freedomdemocratic transition
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Marie Gayte
spellingShingle Marie Gayte
La médiation du pape François entre La Havane et Washington : rupture ou continuité dans la diplomatie pontificale ?
IdeAs : Idées d’Amériques
good offices
Vatican
letter
religious freedom
democratic transition
author_facet Marie Gayte
author_sort Marie Gayte
title La médiation du pape François entre La Havane et Washington : rupture ou continuité dans la diplomatie pontificale ?
title_short La médiation du pape François entre La Havane et Washington : rupture ou continuité dans la diplomatie pontificale ?
title_full La médiation du pape François entre La Havane et Washington : rupture ou continuité dans la diplomatie pontificale ?
title_fullStr La médiation du pape François entre La Havane et Washington : rupture ou continuité dans la diplomatie pontificale ?
title_full_unstemmed La médiation du pape François entre La Havane et Washington : rupture ou continuité dans la diplomatie pontificale ?
title_sort la médiation du pape françois entre la havane et washington : rupture ou continuité dans la diplomatie pontificale ?
publisher Institut des Amériques
series IdeAs : Idées d’Amériques
issn 1950-5701
publishDate 2017-12-01
description News of the role played by Francis, the first pope of the Americas, in the December 2014 rapprochement between Cuba and the United States raises a number of questions. The pope, at the request of both sides, called on Barack Obama and Raul Castro to overcome the obstacle of political prisoners which had hitherto hindered the talks. He then acted as guarantor of the agreement signed by both parties by hosting one of their final negotiating sessions at the Vatican. This article has several aims. It first purports to provide a first sketch of the papal mediation, and to explain the motivations leading Washington and Havana to turn to the Vatican, as well as the consequences of this mediation. It also aims at placing this intervention within the larger framework of the priorities of papal diplomacy − especially vis-a-vis Cuba − since John Paul II’s pontificate, which witnessed the first stages of a thaw between Rome and Havana.The Roman Catholic Church, now the regime’s privileged interlocutor, did agree to mediate between the two parties, after years of ignoring Washington’s requests to act as a catalyst for democratic transition on the island, along the lines of the role it had played in Poland in the 1980s. Yet, this does not mean a change in Vatican priorities. While Francis, through his actions, hopes to put the Holy See back at the center of the diplomatic stage, he thereby hopes to be able to promote concerns − such as defending Christians under threat, preserving for the church a space to carry out its mission and promoting dialogue between states − which have been central to the Church since it began playing an active role in international policy in the late 19th century.
topic good offices
Vatican
letter
religious freedom
democratic transition
url http://journals.openedition.org/ideas/2191
work_keys_str_mv AT mariegayte lamediationdupapefrancoisentrelahavaneetwashingtonruptureoucontinuitedansladiplomatiepontificale
_version_ 1725606198132080640