Vatican’s top diplomat calls on OSCE to reclaim dialogue and shared responsibility on 50th anniversary of Helsinki Final Act, warning of rising intolerance and urging just peace in Ukraine.
Newsroom (05/12/2025 Gaudium Press ) Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, addressed the Ministerial Council of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) on Thursday, marking the 50th anniversary of the landmark Helsinki Final Act.
Speaking in the Austrian capital to Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen, who holds the 2025 OSCE chairmanship, Archbishop Gallagher urged the world’s largest regional security body – encompassing 57 participating States across Europe, Central Asia, and North America – to renew its creative commitment to preventing and resolving conflicts.
He called explicitly for a recovery of the “Helsinki spirit” that characterized the 1975 accords: a spirit of openness, genuine dialogue, and shared responsibility among all member States.
The Vatican diplomat painted a somber picture of the current European security landscape, citing deepening divisions, eroded trust, and the return of armed conflict to the continent. His strongest words were reserved for the war in Ukraine, where he expressed grave concern and appealed to all parties to halt hostilities, resume sincere negotiations, and pursue a just and lasting peace.
Echoing recent appeals made by Pope Leo XIV during visits to Turkey and Lebanon, Archbishop Gallagher stressed that dialogue is not a sign of weakness but an indispensable path toward reconciliation and enduring stability.
Turning to freedom of religion or belief – the only fundamental freedom explicitly named in the Helsinki Final Act – the archbishop decried a surge in intolerance and discrimination across the OSCE region. He highlighted rising antisemitism alongside incidents targeting Christians, Muslims, and adherents of other faiths. While welcoming recent OSCE guidance on combating hate crimes against Christians, he insisted on consistent, even-handed responses to every form of religious intolerance, warning that mere tolerance falls short of authentic freedom.
On migration and human dignity, Archbishop Gallagher emphasized the obligation to protect refugees, displaced persons, and migrants while fostering genuine integration. He praised ongoing OSCE initiatives to combat human trafficking, particularly the exploitation of women and children, and reiterated the Holy See’s call for coordinated national and international action to eradicate related practices, including surrogate motherhood.
Fifty years after the Helsinki Final Act laid foundational principles for security, human rights, and cooperation in Europe, the Holy See’s chief diplomat thus issued a pointed reminder to the OSCE: only a deliberate return to dialogue, mutual trust, and uncompromising defense of human dignity can reverse the continent’s slide toward greater fragmentation and conflict.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from Vatican News
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