ABSTRACT
The social doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church, which has become a significant global political actor during the twentieth century, may be of particular interest in identifying problems and realistically assessing challenges of international affairs. The Roman Catholic Church, hereafter called "the Church", is definitely among the religious institutions that take the need for a "large-scale religious change" towards "religious pluralism" seriously. The Church can justifiably be characterized as a genuine promoter of democracy. As Haynes maintains, due to the increasing internationalization and globalization of international affairs as well as of the Church itself, not least in administrative issues, "the Roman Catholic Church was no longer principally either a Roman or even a European institution". Being probably the oldest religious and political global actor, the Roman Catholic Church has the duty to transform public morals, not only according to sectarian dimensions, but with a view towards a higher degree of social justice in international relations.
