The article below, from Agenzia Fides, written by Cardinal Dominique Joseph Mathieu, OFM Conv., Archbishop of Tehran-Isfahan is long and not an easy read. It is however, worth the effort as it gives a broad and lucid overview of the confusion, change and turmoil taking place in our world today. This is set against the solid ground of faith, Church teaching and the perspective that the Church is link between different communities of people and nations.
In his “Prison Notebooks,” the Italian politician and writer Antonio Gramsci said in the 1930s: “The old world is dying, the new world struggles to be born, and in this twilight, monsters emerge.”
At some point, the distribution and balance of power among the dominant great powers of the world result in a “world order,” a vague and ambiguous term whose definition has never reached consensus. This gives rise to a status of exclusive managers of global affairs.
It is not the soul of peoples, races, or religions that is at stake, but the insatiable appetite of the powerful, which causes humanity to fall back into confrontation – an irreducible collision of values, driven by the hope of prevailing over others. This leads to crises and wars, the scale of which, depending on their scale, can cause global disorder, chaos.
Natural law demands the triumph of law over force, whether physical, military, economic, or political. In the framework of banning brute force, states are called to act to guarantee individuals, societies, and religious organizations the existence, freedom, autonomy, and development.
Although the signing of the United Nations Charter in 1945, for the first time in human history, made war illegal, war remains omnipresent in the world. The reason is simple: the pursuit by any existing or emerging power of global or regional dominance. The philosophy of international relations, based on state sovereignty and zones of influence, opposes the notions of humanitarian and democratic interference rights (sanctions). The madness of competition and suspicion among leaders often causes unnecessary suffering for populations.
Today, the world is undergoing a paradigm shift—a historic transition from unipolar hegemony, through disorder, toward an asymmetrical multilateralism. But as long as economic and financial resources are allocated to military power, they remain unproductive. Global stability is affected, and difficulties persist.
Ideals that seem good for some are not universal and should not be imposed on other peoples or countries. Working toward a global balance requires more wisdom and humility. It involves diplomacy, dialogue, a more universal respect for human dignity, and not war. This purifies the atmosphere from pessimism through realism, toward optimism driven by necessity.
The task of the pacifist who aspiring to a new world of peace involves a profound, simultaneous revolution of political federations and economic collectivization, as the pioneer of science fiction novels and political thinker Herbert George Wells wrote in 1940 in « The New World Order ». According to him, global collectivism—the only alternative to chaos and humanity’s degeneration —must be carefully designed and well thought out. Its achievement requires a heroic and unwavering goal.
Recently, Pope Leo affirmed that it must be recognized that decisions taken are sometimes more based on military power and economic interests than on human dignity and support.
Saint John Paul II, during the 2004 World Day of Peace, warned that “Peace and international law are closely linked: law fosters peace.” He believed that the current system does not reach enough objectives and called for a new world order to replace the one that emerged after World War II—the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank. This new order should be capable of providing solutions to today’s challenges, based on human dignity, integrated societal development, solidarity between rich and poor nations, and the equitable sharing of resources and the extraordinary scientific-technological advances.
Robert L. Phillips speaks of the great vision of communitarianism and a New Global Order, as proposed by Saint John Paul II, which presents an encouraging notion of freedom – transcending unilateral positions of Marxism and liberal capitalism, promoting a vision of a unified human destiny.
“We can no longer accept complacently inequalities and environmental degradation. Humanity’s salvation lies in creating a new development model that unquestionably focuses on coexistence among peoples, in harmony with Creation,” Pope Francis reaffirmed in an interview published in Domenico Agasso’s book « God and the World to come». According to the pontiff, a major reset – moving from financial speculation, fossil fuels, and military accumulation to an inclusive green economy – is necessary. Building a new world order based on solidarity, requires innovative methods to eradicate intimidation, poverty, and corruption, working together, each according to their contribution, without delegating or passing by. Christians and people of good will should support initiatives based on four criteria proposed by Francis: “inclusion of the excluded, promotion of the least, the common good, and care for creation.”
The world must heal from the speculative mentality of (purported) unipolar dominance, causing planetary discord, so as to give it a « soul » of multipolarity, conducive to international harmony. This involves not only governments but also all citizens. Abandoning the person to the rising tides of authoritarianism by political leaders threatens human dignity.
Christians, while promoting the City of God, cannot neglect the city of man. They are essential contributors to establishing a more just, fraternal, and solidaristic global order, rooted in human dignity and the common good, aligned with the vision of a utopian Kingdom of God. To this end, their priorities are prayer, charity, and action. As Saint Paul encouraged in his letter to Timothy, they make requests, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving for all people, especially for heads of state and those exercising authority, so that we may lead quiet and dignified lives in piety.
The Catholic Church conceives of the global order as the expression of the Kingdom of God in the world. Its magisterium emphasizes that it can and must contribute to the spiritual and moral dimension of the structures that govern international life. In Pacem, Dei Munus Pulcherrimum, Pope Benedict XV exhorted that “all states… should unite in a single league, … a kind of family of peoples,” and presented the Church as a model of fraternity and peace.
The process of synodality, as an expression of global Catholicism, aims to lead the Church from the paradigm of an Occidental empire of the spirit to a truly global church, where the thought and practice of every baptized person, in all their worldwide diversity, matter. Baptism incorporates the believer into the body of Christ, which is the true “family of nations.” Gaudium et Spes, paragraph 42, reminds us that the Church is “universal in the sense that it is engaged in no particular culture or political, economic, or social system” and can thus serve as a “link between different communities of people and nations.” The principles of subsidiarity and solidarity ensure that global structures respect human freedom and the dignity of intermediate communities, avoiding a monolithic “world government” in conflict with Church teaching on liberty.
Although the United Nations played a central role in the decolonization process, based on the principle of self-determination of peoples, the Global South remains largely marginalized. The defense of oppressed and post-colonial peoples, and the preservation of democratic values, often oppose blocs of antagonistic interests, which benefit from the veto right to block decisions that could negatively affect their interests or those of their protégés. This constitutes the main issue causing the “paralysis” of the UN.
Offering a space for “listening” is commendable. Engaging in active listening helps establish trust and improves interpersonal communication and dialogue. Listening in the Spirit opens the individual’s heart to the living presence of God; synodality organizes the entire community to “hear” collectively the same Spirit. All are called to contribute to this forward movement for the good of peoples and God’s people. (Agenzia Fides, 30/9/2025)
Archbishop of Tehran-Isfahan
(Agenzia Fides 30.09.25)