‘There is no longer any respect for humanitarian law’

By Isabella H. de Carvalho

“We are very concerned about the systematic violation of international law”. Those were the words of Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, expressing the Holy See’s apprehension about the resumption of various conflicts around the world — particularly the recent violence in the Gaza Strip, which Pope Francis condemned in his Angelus message on Sunday, 23 March. The Israeli Embassy to the Holy See responded to the Pope the following day via its account on x, affirming that Israel was acting in accordance with international law. Speaking on the sidelines of the “Vatican Longevity Summit: Defying the clock of time” event, held at the Augustinianum on Monday, 24 March, Cardinal Parolin told journalists that the Pope’s appeal “is a call to stop, to find ways of dialogue and peace”.

“Recently”, the Cardinal Secretary of State said, “we spoke with the Red Cross and they too are very, very much in difficulty. The bombing of civilians, the killing of humanitarian workers — these are all actions that go precisely against humanitarian law, and today there is no respect for humanitarian law. This is one of the great limitations of this period: there is no respect for humanitarian law anymore”.

Asked about Pope Francis’ condition following his release from Rome’s Gemelli Hospital after a 38-day stay, the Cardinal explained that the Pope “will now need to convalesce” and “be at rest”. It is too early, Parolin said, to predict what the Pope’s future schedule will look like. “For now”, he explained, “only the most important matters — those requiring his decisions — will be presented to the Pope, to avoid overburdening him. Then, as he gets better, we will get back into the normal rhythm”.

In his address to the “Vatican Longevity Summit”, the Cardinal stressed that “longevity is one of the great challenges of our time” because it is not only a medical issue, but one that “touches society as a whole, involving economy, culture, ethics and spirituality”.

“We live in an age in which limitations and frailties tend to be denied, as if old age were a problem to be hidden away”, Cardinal Parolin said. “But life is a gift and preserves its value in every phase of existence”, he added, warning against “seeking after biological immortality, forgetting that true fullness is found not in the quantity of years, but in the quality of relationships, in love given and received, in the profound sense of being part of a community”. For this reason, the Cardinal urged that scientific and technological research be oriented towards the “integral good of the person” and “the service of human dignity and universal fraternity”.

“Longevity cannot become a privilege reserved for the few, nor a new form of social inequality”, he reiterated, quoting Pope Francis’ words on the topic.

Lastly, Parolin again stressed the importance of relationships between the young and the old to bring about “intergenerational solidarity” and avoid a “culture of individualism”.