La diplomacia silenciosa del Papa Benedicto XVI: logros papales no reconocidos

• Páginas: 121-149
• Fecha: 01 Octubre 2025
• Fecha de publicación: 01 Octubre 2025
• Autor: Victor Gaetan
• Materia: Ciencias sociales

ISSN 1850-003X

COLECCIÓN, Vol. 36, Nro. 2, mayo-octubre 2025, pp. 121-149

THE QUIET DIPLOMACY OF

POPE BENEDICT XVI:

UNCREDITED PAPAL

ACHIEVEMENTS

Victor Gaetan*

National Catholic Register



godsdiplomats.gaetan@gmail.com

Recibido: 12 de diciembre de 2024

Aceptado: 20 de agosto de 2025

DOI: 10.46553/colec.36.2.2026.p121-149

*

Abstract: Few scholars or journalists have highlighted Pope Benedict XVI’s

accomplishments in international diplomacy, 2005-2013, for at least three reasons: his

predecessor’s overwhelming list of global achievement overshadowed the German pope’s

record; a misleading caricature of Josef Ratzinger portrayed him as an introverted theologian

disengaged from worldly matters; and even some curial colleagues assumed Benedict did

not prioritize international relations as seen, for example, in his failure to visit any Asian

country. However, every pope is necessarily a diplomat as sovereign of the world’s smallest

state with 1.4 billion citizens-members of the Catholic Church. In fact, under Pope

Benedict’s leadership, meaningful gains were made in improving ecumenical relations with

the Orthodox Church of Constantinople and the Russian Orthodox Church; strengthening

ties with Shia leaders in Iran; and advancing bilateral relations with Vietnam, China, and

Russia. Exploring these cases offers greater insight into the functionality of papal

diplomacy.

Keywords: Diplomacy; Pope Benedict XVI; Catholic Chu rch

* Victor Gaetan, PhD, is senior international correspondent for National Catholic

Register and author of “God’s Diplomats: Pope Francis, Vatican Diplomacy, and

America’s Armageddon (Rowman & Littlefield, 2021). He contributes to Foreign

Affairs magazine, Agenzia Fides (Vatican news outlet), and Religion News Service. He

received a Masters in Law and Diplomacy (MALD) from the Fletcher School of

International Law and Diplomacy and a PhD in ideology in literature from Tufts

University.

122 VICTOR GAETAN

COLECCIÓN, Vol. 36, Nro. 2, mayo-octubre 2025, pp. 121-149

LA DIPLOMACIA SILENCIOSA DEL PAPA

BENEDICTO XVI: LOGROS PAPALES NO

RECONOCIDOS

Resumen: Pocos académicos o periodistas han destacado los logros del Papa Benedicto XVI

en diplomacia internacional entre 2005 y 2013, por al menos tres razones: la abrumadora

lista de logros globales de su predecesor eclipsó el historial del Papa alemán; una caricatura

engañosa de Josef Ratzinger lo retrató como un teólogo introvertido, desconectado de los

asuntos mundanos; e incluso algunos colegas de la curia asumieron que Benedicto no

priorizó las relaciones internacionales, como se vio, por ejemplo, en su omisión de visitar

ningún país asiático. Sin embargo, todo Papa es necesariamente un diplomático como

soberano del estado más pequeño del mundo, con 1.400 millones de ciudadanos: miembros

de la Iglesia Católica. De hecho, bajo el liderazgo del Papa Benedicto, se lograron avances

significativos en la mejora de las relaciones ecuménicas con la Iglesia Ortodoxa de

Constantinopla y la Iglesia Ortodoxa Rusa; el fortalecimiento de los lazos con los líderes

chiítas en Irán; y el avance de las relaciones bilaterales con Vietnam, China y Rusia.

Explorar estos casos ofrece una mayor comprensión de la funcionalidad de la diplomacia

papal.

Palabras clave: diplomacia; Papa Benedicto XVI; Iglesia Católica

I. Introduction

Josef Ratzinger, who became Pope Benedict XVI in April 2005, is widely

recognized as a great theologian, so dedicated to his field that, during his

eight-year pontificate, he published three encyclicals and a best-selling

trilogy on Jesus Christ’s life and ministry, Jesus of Nazareth. Often

overlooked are Benedict’s accomplishments in diplomacy. The 2021

biography, Benedict XVI: A Life (Volume Two): Professor and Prefect to

Pope and Pope Emeritus 1966–The Present, written by Ratzinger’s German

friend, journalist Peter Seewald, gives scant attention to this subject: the

word “diplomacy” does not even appear in the book’s index. Supporting the

assumption that international relations was not a papal strength was the