Multilevel linguistic analysis of the language use of church diplomacy

Abstract

The publication examines a more sophisticated, higher-level form of political language use, the linguistic register of diplomacy, and the methods of language use in the Holy See’s diplomacy; it presents the opinions and modes of communication of Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and also a political actor, regarding certain areas of public life as well as various churches. During his foreign trips, Pope Francis meets with representatives of other religions, political leaders, members of diplomatic corps, and researchers. As a communicator, he interacts with them, provides emotional support through his programs, and conveys messages to them as well as to the wider audience. It is worth examining how the papal statement is received in communities with different cultures and religions; and which stylistic and pragmatic tools help interpret its message and achieve the goals expressed therein. The lexical, lexico-semantic, and syntactic features of the pontifical statements are also presented. The study summarizes the linguistic and extralinguistic outcomes of the individual statements, while mentioning more distant research objectives.