In an address calling for moral clarity and unified action in the face of global division, Cardinal Pietro Parolin told participants at the Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice Foundation’s international conference on Friday that Catholic Social Doctrine offers a vital framework to strengthen global governance and heal deepening polarisations.

The theme of the conference, “Overcoming Polarizations and Rebuilding Global Governance: The Ethical Foundations,” provided the backbone of the Vatican Secretary of State’s discourse on the role of the Church’s social teaching in fostering justice, dialogue, and unity in an increasingly fractured world.

“We stand at a crossroads,” Cardinal Parolin said, “While global challenges such as climate change, inequality, and migration require greater cooperation, we often witness mistrust and fragmentation.”

Calling Catholic Social Teaching “a dynamic tradition” rather than a rigid ideology, the Cardinal pointed to its grounding in the Gospel, Church teaching, and human reason.

Its core principles - human dignity, the common good, solidarity, subsidiarity, and care for creation - offer, he said, a universal moral compass for addressing contemporary crises.

Rethinking global governance

Cardinal Parolin pointed to a crisis of legitimacy in current global governance structures, describing widespread perceptions that institutions are either overly intrusive or insufficiently effective.

He highlighted three fundamental contributions that Catholic Social Doctrine can make: “Human dignity” as the foundation of governance; the “common good” as its goal; “Balancing subsidiarity and solidarity” to empower local communities while fostering global cooperation.

Human dignity, he said, is a principle that “challenges systems that reduce people to economic units or political pawns. It calls for policies that prioritise the vulnerable - the refugee, the elderly, the unborn -over profit or power.”

The common good, he continued, urges us to move beyond utilitarianism or individualism, advocating instead for cooperation over competition. “Debt relief should not be seen as charity, but as a shared investment in global stability.”

Balancing subsidiarity and solidarity, he explained, would allow for governance structures that are neither authoritarian nor paralysed by fragmentation. “No nation is an island,” he said, “Subsidiarity without solidarity can neglect the marginalised, just as solidarity without subsidiarity can ignore local agency.”

Healing through dialogue and encounter

Turning to the theme of polarisation, Cardinal Parolin described how ideological rifts, intensified by digital media, threaten trust and decision-making.

Thus, he continued, truth must be pursued through dialogue and the fostering of a  “culture of encounter” where listening and humility guide debate.

Solidarity must also work as a bridge across global divides, he said, and the care for creation must become a universal concern as environmental crises, he noted, affect all nations regardless of ideology.

“Climate change doesn’t care about borders,” he said. “It gives us an opportunity to transcend divisions and collaborate for our shared home.”

Building a civilisation of love

In closing, Cardinal Parolin reaffirmed the enduring relevance of Catholic Social Doctrine in guiding efforts to renew political and economic systems.

“Global governance is not just about systems—it’s about building a civilisation of love,” he said. “Polarisation is not inevitable. It can be overcome through truth, solidarity, and shared purpose.”

Echoing the words of Pope Leo XIII, he concluded by urging participants to build “bridges through dialogue and encounter,” reminding them that unity does not mean uniformity, and that justice is rooted not in vengeance, but in peace.