Date of Award
2024
Degree Name
Master of Philosophy (School of Arts and Sciences)
Schools and Centres
Arts & Sciences
First Supervisor
Professor John A. Rees
Second Supervisor
Professor Tracey Rowland
Abstract
The Vatican has always played a significant role in global politics, and it continues to do so in the contemporary World. The Vatican’s relations with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) have drawn considerable attention in recent years, especially following the signing of the 2018 Vatican-China Agreement. Some scholars and commentators suggest that the 2018 Agreement and its terms represent a significant deviation from the norm in Vatican diplomacy. In light of that controversy, the present thesis provides an introductory examination of the philosophy that possibly guides the Vatican’s relations with the PRC and the implications this holds for an understanding of Vatican foreign policy under the Pontificate of Pope Francis. To investigate the core issue of this thesis, an examination of Vatican diplomacy is conducted, including an overview of the history of Vatican-China relations, an investigation into the Vatican’s current foreign policy strategy under Pope Francis, and the possible challenges that Vatican-China relations face going forward. The findings of the thesis build on the work of Rowland and others to argue that the guiding philosophy of the Vatican toward relations with China under the pontificate of Francis is Peronism, and the reason why this particular philosophy is being used to guide the Vatican’s foreign policy is because Pope Francis himself is heavily influenced by Peronism and he views it as being the best way to navigate the Chinese Communist Party’s approach to religion and religious organisations. That Peronism is a heavy influence on Francis’ decision-making is reflective of the Pope’s formative social and political experiences in Argentina prior to becoming Pope. The thesis reaches this conclusion by aligning the tenets of Peronism seen in the Vatican’s approach to relations with China, and the PRC’s strategy toward religion understood through the Government Involvement in Religion (GIR) framework proposed by the scholar Jonathan Fox. Implications for future research in Vatican diplomacy are considered.
Publication Details
Ogilvie, J. (2024). The Philosophy Behind the Vatican's Approach to Relations with China [Master of Philosophy (School of Arts and Sciences)]. The University of Notre Dame Australia. https://researchonline.nd.edu.au/theses/449
