“Unarmed and Disarming peace”: The Holy See and Global Politics

Tablet Webinar sponsored by Notre Dame University Australia After the recent U.S. military operations in Venezuela, an unnamed American official stated that “the system of geopolitical agreements, norms, and institutions crafted by the U.S. since World War II is finished. The liberal rules-based order…is dead.” Is this bleak assessment correct? And if so, is humanity headed into a new era of war and armed conflict, driven by old divisions with new and frightening technological capability? While trust in governments and in institutions of all kinds seems to be lessening, perhaps paradoxically, the pope is playing a unique role as a transnational moral authority and spiritual voice in the world today. How can the pope and the Catholic Church carry the gospel message of peace into our fragmented world? Is the Church too compromised by a past of scandal and moral failure? Join this Tablet webinar for a discussion with a distinguished panel of diplomats and politicians regarding the various ways in which the pope, the Holy See, and the global Catholic Church are at the centre of a new movement for peace and reconciliation in a dangerously divided world. HE Anne Leahy, Former Canadian Ambassador to the Holy See HE Martin Selmayr, Ambassador to the Holy See and the United Nations in Rome HE the Honourable Keith Pitt, Australian Ambassador to the Holy See Chaired by Dr Shaun Blanchard, University of Notre Dame Australia Monday 21 September 2026 | 12 noon – 1pm BST