- 著者
-
塩崎 弘明
- 出版者
- JAPAN ASSOCIATION OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
- 雑誌
- 国際政治 (ISSN:04542215)
- 巻号頁・発行日
- vol.1999, no.121, pp.33-53,L7, 1999-05-21 (Released:2010-09-01)
- 参考文献数
- 140
The dominant cause of Vatican Diplomacy and its position at the end of the Cold War, or at the collapse of communism in the Soviet bloc, could be found not only in its Ostpolitik of 1963 to 1990, but also in its previous history of the secret contacts with the Soviet government from 1919 to 1929. To the promoters of the Vatican's Ostpolitik, the Cold War brought to conclusion a policy which had existed from the Russian Revolution to the Revolution of 1989.During the First and Second World Wars, the Holy See, the international spiritual and moral organization under the leadership of the Popes, resumed an active role in international affairs. The war unexpectedly increased the importance and extent of Vatican Diplomacy. Both World Wars coincidentally ended the Vatican's isolation and ushered in a new phase of Vatican Diplomacy, which dates lasted until reign of Pope John XXIII and encompasses the new enemy, Stalinist communism. This remained the clear and continuing enemy of the Holy See until the 1960's.John's “Opening to the East” and the subsequent policy of Ostpolitik developed by Agostino Casaroli in the 1960's and 1970's, illustrate the policy of equidistance between the communist world and the west that has characterized Vatican Diplomacy since early 1960's. The election of a Polish Pope, John Paul II, and the emergence of a new Soviet reformer, M. Gorbachev, contributed to accelerate the coming of the Revolution of 1989 that culminated in the end of the Cold War. Vatican Diplomacy, however, still faced great challenges.To the Far East, the Cold War is not yet over for the Holy See. The Vatican's Ostpolitik has signally failed to penetrate the “bamboo curtain” around China and some of its neighbors. However, Vatican Diplomacy is, more than anything else, expected to promote the spiritual and human values that will become crucial points in international relations in the near future.