Bid for Internationalism: The Dialogue Between Pope Pius XII and President Franklin Roosevelt on Peace and International Order
Madalena Resende
Associate Professor, NOVA University of Lisbon
Senior Researcher, Instituto Português de Relações Internacionais (IPRI-NOVA)
This presentation examines the dialogue between Pope Pius XII and President Franklin D. Roosevelt regarding the future post-war international order during the first year of the Second World War (1939–1940), a period when both, as leaders of officially neutral states, sought avenues for negotiated peace. It examines the development of Catholic thought on international relations in *Summi Pontificatus*, the 1939 Christmas Message (the Five Points), and the 1940 Christmas Message, with particular attention to concepts such as national self-determination, the role of states within the international system, disarmament, and the creation of international organisations. These ideas are analysed in light of both Wilsonian principles and the Thomist natural-law universalist tradition.
In parallel, the presentation considers Roosevelt’s own emerging universalist vision of world order and his increasing use of Christian references. This evolution is situated within the context of deepening diplomatic engagement between the Pope and the President, most notably the appointment of Myron Taylor as Roosevelt’s personal envoy to the Vatican in autumn 1939. Finally, the study assesses how this Vatican–White House dialogue was shaped by the American episcopate, whose doctrine on international relations – developed in the 1910s – combined neo-Thomist natural-law internationalism with a commitment to liberal democratic statehood.
Madalena Meyer Resende is associate professor at NOVA University of Lisbon, where she also is a senior researcher at Instituto Português de Relações Internacionais (IPRI-NOVA) and sub-dean for internationalization. Her research focuses on nationalism, Catholicism, and constitutionalism, and she has held leadership roles including President of the Portuguese Political Science Association and Vice-President of the International Political Science Association.