Within the hallowed halls of the Vatican Apostolic Library, a repository of human knowledge that has stood since the mid-15th century, a quiet and unprecedented decision has ignited a firestorm that spans faith, diplomacy, and realpolitik.
The library’s administration, under Vice Prefect Fr. Giacomo Cardinali, has allocated a dedicated room for Muslim prayers, a move that has simultaneously been celebrated as a gesture of intellectual openness and condemned as a betrayal of Catholic identity.
The controversy provides a stark window into the modern challenges facing the Holy See, forcing a public reckoning between its theological traditions and its geopolitical aspirations.
While the faithful debate doctrine, political analysts observe a classic exercise in soft power, positioning the Vatican’s decision not merely as an interfaith courtesy, but as a sophisticated strategic manoeuvre on the global stage.
The Decision and the Backlash
The Vatican Library, often described as the intellectual heart of the Catholic Church, houses a collection of immense diversity.
Fr. Cardinali, in an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica [1], highlighted that its holdings include “old Qurans alongside Hebrew, Ethiopian, Arabic and Chinese works,” framing the library as a truly “universal” institution.
It was in this spirit, he explained, that the decision was made.
“Some Muslim scholars have asked us for a room with a carpet for praying,” he stated, “and we have given it to them.”
This simple act of accommodation, however, provoked immediate outrage among some Catholic traditionalists and commentators.
The backlash crystallized around two pointed questions, circulating widely on Catholic forums and social media: Will a Christian prayer space be permitted in Mecca or within the compound of the Al-Aqsa Mosque?
And is the timing, amid global protests in support of Palestine, a sign of the Vatican succumbing to populist pressures?
The questions underscore a deep-seated anxiety over reciprocity and the integrity of Catholic spaces.
For these critics, the prayer room is seen not as bridge-building, but as a unilateral concession that undermines the library’s sacred character.
The Soft Power Calculus
Beyond the theological dispute, a different analysis is taking shape in the offices of diplomats and political scientists.
They view the Vatican’s move through the lens of international relations theory, specifically the concept of soft power pioneered by scholar Joseph Nye.
Soft power, as defined by Nye, is the ability to shape the preferences of others through attraction and persuasion rather than coercion or payment [2]. It is the power to get others to “want what you want.”
Crucially, its sources are not tanks or treasury bills, but intangible assets: culture, political values, and foreign policies perceived as legitimate.
As scholar Geun Lee [3] elaborates, soft resources include “ideas, images, theories, know-how, education, discourse, culture, traditions, and national or global symbols.”
The Vatican, as the political capital of a global institution with 1.3 billion adherents, is a master practitioner of this form of influence.
Its soft resources are unparalleled: millennia of moral authority, a vast diplomatic network, and a unique standing as a transcendent voice in world affairs.
The allocation of the prayer room can be seen as a direct application of these resources.
By providing a space for Muslim prayer, the Vatican is performing a set of values, toleration, dialogue, and intellectual openness, that it wishes to be associated with.
This action initiates the first stage in Lee’s model of soft power conversion: the application of soft resources.
The second stage involves the cognitive processes of the recipients, in this case, the global Muslim community, other religious groups, and the international intellectual elite.
The intended message is clear: the Catholic Church is not an insular fortress but a hospitable and respectful partner in a pluralistic world.
The goal is to generate goodwill, enhance the Vatican’s moral prestige, and build bridges with the Islamic world at a time of heightened global tension.
If successful, this leads to the third stage: soft power production.
The desired outcome is a strengthening of the Vatican’s diplomatic hand, increased influence in mediating conflicts, and a bolstering of its role as an essential voice for peace.
By attracting acquiescence through this gesture, the Church aims to advance its broader foreign policy objectives.
A Delicate Balance
The outrage from within segments of the Catholic flock, however, highlights the inherent risk in this soft power strategy.
The very act intended to attract one audience can repel another.
For the strategy to be effective, the Vatican must carefully manage its own constituency, ensuring that its outward-facing diplomacy does not alienate its core base of support.
The questions about reciprocity in Mecca are not just theological quibbles; they are a challenge to the strategic coherence of the move.
The Vatican’s calculation appears to be that the long-term geopolitical benefits of being seen as an open, universal institution outweigh the internal friction.
In a world fractured by religious and cultural conflict, positioning itself as a neutral hub for dialogue and scholarship amplifies its unique global role.
The prayer room in the Vatican Library is, on its surface, a simple carpet in a quiet room.
But it has become a potent symbol of the Catholic Church’s ongoing struggle to navigate its dual identity: as a guardian of immutable doctrine and as a savvy, modern geopolitical actor on the world stage.
The outrage is real, but so is the strategic imperative. In the quiet diplomacy of soft power, a gesture of inclusion may ultimately prove to be one of the Vatican’s most powerful assets.
- - - - - -
References
[1] La Repubblica. (2025). Interview with Fr. Giacomo Cardinali, Vice Prefect of the Vatican Apostolic Library. La Repubblica.
[2] Nye, J. S. (2004). Soft power: The means to success in world politics. New York, NY: PublicAffairs.
[3] Lee, G. (2009). A theory of soft power and Korea’s soft power strategy. The Korean Journal of Defence Analysis