New Diplomacy Involving NGOs

There is no doubt in my mind that non-State actors such as NGOs are directly involved in diplomacy in modern times. My focus however is more on religious NGOs, particularly the Vatican. It is interesting to note that the Vatican is a Church and State institution. The Roman Catholic Church has been in existence long before 1929 when the Vatican city- state was established. It is the sovereign territory of the Holy See and official residence of the pope, who is also the head of the Roman Catholic Church. This places the Vatican in a unique position in terms of diplomacy as it has observer status in the UN and has diplomatic ties with several countries including Arab states. As it is a church/state institution, it is often not clear when it functions as an NGO. Obviously, on the church side, the pope speaks against abortion and promotes this philosophy worldwide, bearing in mind that the Catholic Church has over one billion members worldwide, meaning many countries are aware of this. We must also remember that countries like Croatia, Poland, Spain and a few others are predominantly Catholic. Whether by divine providence or fate, the late pope John Paul II, the most charismatic pope ever, who was made for television, came along at the right time, when technology would finally make him available to peoples all round the world. His funeral created diplomatic tensions for China and Taiwan. The Chinese government boycotted the funeral because of the attendance of President Chen of Taiwan. The deceased pope was no doubt a diplomat either in life or in death. Even the current pope continues to spearhead the Catholic Church in world affairs such as ethical, educational, and environmental issues. Meetings with government officials as well as other NGOs are often held at Vatican city with the pope in his capacity of head of state while he appears to the public like his predecessor as an NGO fighting for the common good of man on basic issues of life. The current pope's recent visit to the US appears to be both in his capacity as a head of state and as the head of the Roman Catholic Church as state issues were probably discussed with the American President and open mass was also held there. Last year, an international children's NGO, International Federation Terre des Hommes, wrote an open letter to the pope to intervene in Zimbabwe, urging President Mugabe to reject violence and uphold democracy. What is not clear to me is whether this children's NGO was liasing with the pope as a statesman or as a religious figure. One thing is clear though, the pope is certainly a diplomat. Any comments...