In Pope’s absence, Vatican diplomacy continues, strives to be heard

From the hospital, “war seems even more absurd,” wrote Pope Francis for the Angelus of March 2, 2025, in one of his rare public statements since his hospitalization on February 14.

In his absence – and relative silence – I.MEDIA looks back at how Vatican diplomacy is continuing its work. We focus particularly on key figures, Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Archbishop Paul Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States.

On Monday morning, the Vatican's “number 2,” Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and the “foreign minister,” the British Archbishop Paul Gallagher, received the Lithuanian president, Gitanas Nausėda, who had come to Rome for the Jubilee. Usually, heads of state first meet the pope.  But Francis, who has been hospitalized since February 14 for a serious respiratory infection, has not been holding his official audiences.

Francis has not been silent, however. The texts of the Sunday Angelus and Wednesday audience are published even though the Argentine pontiff isn’t appearing in public. In them, he continues to plead for an end to conflicts.

Also on Monday, he sent a message to the Pontifical Academy for Life, calling for multilateralism that does not “depend on changing political circumstances or the interests of the few.” This document, which he signed in Gemelli Hospital, indicates that the Pope continues to speak on geopolitical issues.

In the Pope's absence, his administration is seeking to make the voice of the Holy See heard on the international stage. Cardinal Parolin gave an interview to Italian daily Corriere della Sera on February 21, addressing the situation of various hotbeds of conflict around the world.

A few days earlier, he also visited Burkina Faso to support local peace efforts. The day before the pontiff was hospitalized, the Italian cardinal strongly opposed the deportation of the people of Gaza, an idea raised by the American president.

In the pages of the Jesuit publication America Magazine on February 28, Archbishop Paul Gallagher gave a long interview in which he openly commented — a rare occurrence — on the politics of US President Donald Trump. He expressed the position of the Holy See and didn’t hesitate to criticize the White House's decision to open negotiations on the war in Ukraine without involving Kiev.

Archbishop Gallagher also laments the Trump administration's deportation of migrants and the reduction in the development aid budget. Leaving the US aside, he discusses the Holy See's relations with China and Vietnam.

But the physical absence of the head of the Catholic Church is being felt in terms of the reach of the Holy See's voice.

“Diplomacy is continuing as normal, including at the level of the nunciatures, but there has been a noticeable drop in visibility,” admits an expert on the Vatican.

According to our information, some official visits have been postponed, and unlike the Lithuanian president, they haven’t even been received at the Secretariat of State. In this time of uncertainty about the future of the pontificate, certain decisions have been suspended.

Several outcomes are being considered, including the resignation of the 88-year-old pontiff, which some observers believe is a possibility. A Vatican source added that the Roman Curia “is waiting to see how the situation develops before undertaking any new initiatives.”

The same message was heard at an embassy to the Holy See. “There is a slowdown and a sense of caution; it isn’t the time to undertake projects. We’re more in the business of managing current affairs,” said one source.

However, he added, “At the Holy See, the exchange of information is continuing; there are no canceled appointments.”