Vatican drops its oar into Aussie bid for nuclear submarines

The second most senior Catholic has raised concerns about Australia’s defence collaboration with the US and Britain.

Pietro Parolin was the main architect of the Vatican’s secretive agreement with the Chinese Communist Party government. Picture: AFP

The Vatican has raised concerns about AUKUS, Australia’s defence collaboration with the US and Britain, especially the agreement to help the Australian Navy acquire a fleet of eight nuclear-powered submarines.

Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, the main architect of the Vatican’s secretive agreement with the Chinese Communist Party government, spoke to journalists on September 23, during a meeting of the European’s People’s Party in Rome. He is second behind Pope Francis in the church hierarchy.

“The Holy See is against rearmament,’’ Cardinal Parolin said. “All the efforts that have been made and are being made by the Vatican are to eliminate nuclear weapons because they are not the way to maintain peace and security in the world. They create even more dangers for peace and even more conflict.’’

That vision, he said, “has always characterised the Holy See” and “one cannot but be worried’’ about the deal.

But when bought and built, the submarines will not carry nuclear weapons. They will be nuclear-propelled, using technology that avoids the need for refuelling during their operational lives of up to 35 years.

Cardinal George Pell, who has returned to Rome from Australia and was questioned last week about Cardinal Parolin’s views, backed the deal and the AUKUS partnership. “I agree, as do the vast majority of my fellow citizens and the political forces of government and opposition,’’ he told Italian newspaper Avvenire.

“Let’s hope nothing dramatic happens. But more collaboration is needed between democracies in Asia and the Pacific to balance the great power of China, which is not democratic.’’ That was “perhaps not well understood in Europe, but it is so”, Cardinal Pell said.

In addition to its growing aggression towards Taiwan, Beijing’s ruthless takeover of Hong Kong, its relentless cyber attacks, incursions into Japanese airspace, its hostage diplomacy and trade war against Australia have ratcheted up regional tensions. So has its demand that any ships seeking peaceful transit through 90 per cent of the South China Sea, which it illegally claims, formally notify it of their presence.

Beijing is at odds with The Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam over its claim to more than 90 per cent of the South China Sea, which the Permanent Court of Arbitration dismissed at The Hague in 2016. This has not stopped it from building up disputed islands and reefs, and constructing military bases and air strips on them. In April, it sent more than 200 ships to anchor around the Whitsun Reef in the Spratly Island chain.

In Rome, Cardinal Parolin also warned against the risk of manipulating religion “for political purposes”. At the same time, paradoxically, the agreement he oversaw with the Chinese government, signed in 2018, has not prevented the CCP from pursuing a determined “sinicisation’’ of Christianity in China. Nor has it prevented the torture, imprisonment and persecution of Christians, members of other faiths and clergy. Under “sinicisation’’, the destruction of churches continues and religious symbols have been replaced with communist images, such as that of Mao.

As the Vatican’s chief diplomat, Cardinal Parolin was the driver behind the 2018 agreement, which handed the CCP a major say over the appointment of bishops in China. The deal has never been sighted publicly.

It was renewed last year, to the horror of Hong Kong Cardinal Joseph Zen, who was snubbed and barred from seeing the Pope last year when he flew to Rome to discuss it. “They’re giving the flock into the mouths of the wolves,’’ Cardinal Zen said. Former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo also appealed to the Vatican last year not to renew the pact.

“It jeopardises the church’s moral authority,’’ he said.