Pietro Parolin

Pietro Parolin (17 January 1955 –) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who has served as the Vatican's Secretary of State since 2013 and as a member of the Council of Cardinals since 2014, the same year he was made a cardinal. He is expected to preside over the 2025 papal conclave.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin

Quotes

• We are representatives of the Holy Father, but this corresponds to dialogue with the Catholic Church,
  • "Dialogue between Church and state must continue and be strengthened," said the Apostolic Nuncio (8 June 2012) Fides News Agency

• During the past decades, the Holy See has been making all possible efforts to establish, strengthen or restore dialogue on the cultural and religious levels and in the social and humanitarian sphere. I'm absolutely convinced that life under the guidance of the Gospel would in itself make an important contribution into forming the society and culture, which simultaneously assists personal development and encourages an intense and constructive dialogue with other authentic cultures and religions.
  • Cardinal Pietro Parolin on goals of 4-day Russia visit (21 August 2017) Vatican News

• Fundamentalism is always a sign of the desperation of reason and the defeat of faith.
• +As quoted in Festival delle religioni: card. Parolin, «Fondamentalismo è sconfitta di fede e ragione», toscanaoggi.it (April 27, 2019)

• It is not only its location on the edge of Europe that makes Eastern Europe important, but also its historical role in civilisation, culture and the Christian faith. Some point out that when St John Paul II imagined a Europe stretching from the Atlantic to the Urals, he was not thinking of ‘Western expansionism’, but of a more united whole encompassing the entire continent.
  • As quoted in Andrea Tornielli, Parolin: Occidente e Russia devono dialogare e comprendersi, lastampa.it (July 27, 2017)

• If military spending were used for other purposes, a fund could be set up to help millions of people who are dying for peace.
  • As quoted in Summit disarmo: card. Parolin, serve «fiducia reciproca» per «evitare conflitti e costruire ponti», toscanaoggi.it (November 10, 2017)

• There are many martyrs in Latin America because, starting from their choice to follow Jesus Christ, priests are willing to get their hands dirty and expose themselves in defence of the faithful entrusted to them and for the great values of justice and solidarity.
  • Interview of Monica Mundo, Contro le ideologie lo spirito dice: «Ama!», Avvenire.it (May 25, 2015)

• The Arab Spring was a complex phenomenon which, unfortunately, did not achieve the goals of greater democracy and social justice that seemed to be its driving forces. However, it is legitimate to ask how much the pursuit of particular economic and geopolitical interests contributed to this failure at the international community level.
  • From an interview of Stefania Falasca, Col Vangelo diplomazia di pace, Avvenire.it (February 8, 2014)

Quotes about

• If the Church still has a glimmer of rationality, it must elect Pope Peter Parolin. It is the only way to restore its authority.
  • Se la Chiesa ha ancora un barlume di razionalità deve eleggere papa Pietro Parolin. È l’unico modo per restituirle autorevolezza.
    • Giuliano Di Bernardo (former Grand Master of the Grand Orient of Italy). As quoted in Lorenzo Giarelli, Conclave, il massone Giuliano Di Bernardo: “Il mio amico Parolin come Papa”, Il Fatto Quotidiano (in Italian; May 3, 2025)