This chapter examines the evolving role of the Catholic Church in conflict resolution from the pontificate of Pius XII to that of Leo XIV, asking how an institution without conventional military or economic power has exercised significant moral and diplomatic influence in situations of war, political repression, and humanitarian crisis. Employing a historical-theological approach, the study traces the development of papal peacemaking across nine pontificates, from Pius XII’s wartime diplomacy and John XXIII’s intervention during the Cuban Missile Crisis to the peace initiatives of Paul VI, John Paul II, Benedict XVI, Francis, and Leo XIV. The analysis is framed through Asongu's Critical Synthetic Realism (CSR), Synthetic Theological Realism (STR), and Critical-Liberative Theology (CLT), which provide complementary lenses for examining moral truth, interdisciplinary conflict analysis, scriptural interpretation, structural injustice, and liberative praxis. Particular attention is given to the contrast between the Vatican’s global diplomatic interventions and the more cautious response of local ecclesiastical institutions to Cameroon’s Anglophone conflict. The chapter argues that Catholic peacemaking is most credible when diplomacy, prophetic witness, solidarity with victims, and commitment to justice operate together. It concludes that the Church’s contribution to conflict resolution cannot be measured merely by negotiated settlements or ceasefires, but by its willingness to confront structures of injustice, amplify the voices of the oppressed, and insist that authentic peace must be grounded in truth, human dignity, justice, and reconciliation.

Keywords: Catholic Church; conflict resolution; papal diplomacy; peacebuilding; Critical Synthetic Realism; Synthetic Theological Realism; Critical-Liberative Theology; Vatican diplomacy; Cameroon; just peace; Januarius Asongu