Cardinal Parolin at UN calls for trust, human control of lethal weapons and a two-state path to peace

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State, spoke in the General Debate of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Saturday, Sept. 26. He brought greetings from Pope Leo XIV and took up this year's theme, "Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation." Quotes are from Vatican News and the text posted by the Holy See's mission to the UN.

He said trust grows through "mutual respect and dialogue." He called for disarmament and said a people's right to defend itself must not become "a race to massive rearmament."

On artificial intelligence, he quoted Pope Leo XIV on lethal autonomous weapons systems (LAWS). The quoted passage says the decision to use lethal force "must remain under effective, self-aware and responsible human control."

On Ukraine, he said "weapons must fall silent and bombardments must cease." The Holy See, he said, backs "an immediate, complete and effective ceasefire."

On the Middle East, the mission's text says the Holy See "reiterates its call for an end to the ongoing violence against the Palestinian civilian population in the West Bank." On Gaza, the Holy See "remains concerned about the dire humanitarian crisis, the widespread destruction, mass displacement and the severe persisting shortages." It urges the international community to work "toward advancing the two-state solution, with a view to bringing about a just and lasting peace." He welcomed a U.S.–Israel–Lebanon framework agreement but voiced "serious concerns" about how it is being carried out.

He said Christians in many places "continue to suffer discrimination, violence, and outright persecution." He said "the defense of any one community's freedom strengthens the freedom of all."

At a separate high-level meeting on Sept. 24, OSV News reported, he called the two-state solution "the only viable and equitable path" to a just and lasting peace.