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Vatican Diplomat Urges Respect for Women's Rights at UN
Confirmed
In Short: The Vatican's top UN diplomat, Archbishop el-Kassis, called for equal dignity and rights for men and women, emphasizing the importance of interreligious dialogue and rejecting hate speech.
Archbishop Christophe el-Kassis, the Vatican's top diplomat to the United Nations, emphasized the importance of recognizing equal dignity and rights for men and women during a recent conference.
In his address at the 'Global Conference on Promoting Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue and Tolerance in Countering Hate Speech,' Archbishop el-Kassis highlighted the ongoing challenges women face in balancing motherhood and professional lives.
He stressed that hate speech violates the commandment to love one's neighbor and urged the rejection of intolerance and discrimination.
Archbishop el-Kassis also condemned hate speech, stating that it 'poisons public discourse, inflames division, and too often prepares the ground for violence and persecution.'
The conference, held at the U.N.’s New York headquarters, was sponsored by the U.N.’s Alliance of Civilizations, established in 2005 to address social and cultural polarization.
Archbishop el-Kassis clarified that true tolerance is not indifference or relativism, but rather the active recognition of the equal dignity of every person and the freedom of conscience that belongs to each individual.
He warned that new forms of exploitation and abuse have emerged due to medical and technological advances, emphasizing the need for vigilance.
The archbishop underscored the importance of interreligious and ecumenical dialogue, noting that the Vatican had released a new note on the subject the day before his address.
Archbishop el-Kassis also called for a 'creative and mutually enriching collaboration between men and women at all levels,' highlighting the need for dialogue and mutual understanding.
In his statement, he quoted Pope Leo XIV’s May 2025 address to media representatives, where the Pope said, 'Let us disarm words and we will help to disarm the world.'
What this adds
The Vatican's top diplomat to the United Nations, Archbishop el-Kassis, emphasized the importance of women's rights and interreligious dialogue, adding to previous statements by Pope Francis and Cardinal Parolin on similar themes.
Background
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's secretary of state, said universal health care is a 'moral imperative' during a United Nations meeting focused on preventing and addressing pandemics and public health emergencies.
What's confirmed
- The Vatican's top diplomat to the United Nations, Archbishop el-Kassis, condemned hate speech at a recent conference, stating it contradicts the commandment to love one’s neighbor.
- Archbishop Christophe el-Kassis, apostolic nuncio and the Holy See’s permanent observer to the UN, shared his thoughts in a statement during the “Global Conference on Promoting Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue and Tolerance in Countering Hate Speech” on September 17.
- He clarified that “true tolerance is not indifference or relativism,” but rather “the active recognition of the equal dignity of every person and the freedom of conscience that belongs to each”.
What's still developing
- Learn more September 30, 2026 Share on Bluesky Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email to a friend Print Universal health care is "a moral imperative," as "the Holy See has consistently reiterated," the Vatican's top diplomat told the United Nations.
- According to Vatican News, Pope Leo highlighted France's historic contributions to culture, the arts, science and Christian thought, while urging the country to draw on these traditions in responding to contemporary challenges.
- The Vatican announced Butnaru’s appointment on Sept. 24.
- Pope Francis addresses the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France, on Nov. 25, 2014. | Credit: Alan Holdren/CNA “We cannot allow the Mediterranean to become a vast cemetery. The boats landing daily on the shores of Europe are filled with men and women who need acceptance and assistance,” Francis said.
- Pope Leo XIV has appointed Romanian diplomat Monsignor Paul Butnaru as the new permanent observer of the Holy See to the Council of Europe.
- With wars plaguing Europe and the Middle East, he reaffirmed the Vatican's opposition to nuclear weapons and said the nuclear deterrence doctrine was "mistaken" since it was just fueling a new arms race.
- Leo earlier told reporters that he was pleased his message was being heard and said he hoped the dialogue that the Vatican initiated with tech companies would continue.
- Those implications had been noted in the draft political declaration produced by the Sept. 25 meeting for consideration by the U.N. General Assembly. The U.S. and Italy were among the nations opposing adoption of the nonbinding agreement, which may be reconsidered at a later point. In his statement, Parolin also underscored the "social fragmentation" both revealed and exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. At times, he said, "older persons were abandoned and many young people suffered from isolation and loneliness, inhibiting their personal and affective development."
- "Failing to confront this gap will make it harder to prevent and respond to pandemics effectively in the future."
- He said that the principle of solidarity "implies building expertise and capacity in research, innovation, manufacturing, production, and regulation in developing countries."
- He described the restoration as an “impressive technical achievement” and said it showed how something thought to be irreparably destroyed could be brought back to life through shared effort.
- Pope Leo XIV echoed similar concerns during his apostolic journey to Spain in June 2026, calling for an “examination of conscience” regarding migrant deaths during his visit to the port in the Canary Islands.