The
Holy See is the episcopal
jurisdiction of the Bishop
of Rome
, commonly
known as the Pope, and is the preeminent
episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central
government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in
other spheres the Holy See acts and speaks for the whole Catholic
Church. It is also recognized by other subjects of international
law as a sovereign entity, headed by the Pope, with which
diplomatic relations can be maintained.
The Holy
See is not the same as the Vatican City State
, which came into existence only in 1929, while the
Holy See dates back to early Christian times. Ambassadors
are officially accredited not to the Vatican City State but to "the
Holy See", and papal representatives to states and international
organizations are recognized as representing the Holy See, not the
Vatican City State.
While all
episcopal sees are "holy",
the expression "the Holy See" (without further specification) is
normally used in international relations, as a
metonym, (as well as in the
canon law of the Catholic
Church) to refer to the See of Rome viewed as the central
government of the
Catholic
Church.
Organization
The Pope governs the Catholic Church through the
Roman Curia. The Roman Curia consists of a
complex of offices that administer church affairs at the highest
level, including the
Secretariat of State, nine
Congregations, three
Tribunal, eleven Pontifical
Councils, and seven Pontifical Commissions. The Secretariat of
State, under the Cardinal Secretary of State, directs and
coordinates the Curia. The current incumbent, Cardinal
Tarcisio Bertone, is the See's equivalent
of a prime minister. Archbishop
Dominique Mamberti, Secretary of the
Section for Relations with States of the Secretariat of State, acts
as the Holy See's foreign minister. Bertone and Mamberti were named
in their respective roles by
Pope
Benedict XVI in September 2006.
The
Secretariat of State is the only body of the Curia that is situated
within Vatican
City
. The others are in buildings in different
parts of Rome
that have
extraterritorial rights similar to those of embassies.
Among the most active of the major Curial institutions are the
Congregation
for the Doctrine of the Faith, which oversees the Catholic
Church's doctrine; the
Congregation for Bishops, which
coordinates the appointment of bishops worldwide; the
Congregation for
the Evangelization of Peoples, which oversees all missionary
activities; and the
Pontifical Council for
Justice and Peace, which deals with international peace and
social issues.
Three tribunals are responsible for judicial power. The
Sacra Rota is responsible for normal appeals,
including decrees of nullity for marriages, with the
Apostolic Signatura being the
administrative court of appeal and highest ecclesiastical court.
The
Apostolic Penitentiary is
different from those two and, instead of dealing with contentious
cases, issues absolutions, dispensations, and
indulgences.
The
Prefecture
for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See coordinates the
finances of the Holy See departments and supervises the
administration of all offices, whatever be their degree of
autonomy, that manage these finances. The most important of these
is the
Administration
of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See.
The
Prefecture of the
Papal Household is responsible for the organization of the
papal household, audiences, and ceremonies (apart from the strictly
liturgical part).
The Holy See does not dissolve upon a Pope's death or resignation.
It instead operates under a different set of laws
sede vacante. During this
interregnum, the heads of the
dicasteries of the Roman Curia (such as the
prefects of congregations) cease immediately to hold office, the
only exceptions being the
Major
Penitentiary, who continues his important role regarding
absolutions and dispensations, and the
Camerlengo of the Holy Roman
Church, who administers the
temporalities (
i.e., properties and
finances) of the See of St. Peter during this period. The
government of the See, and therefore of the Catholic Church, then
falls to the
College of
Cardinals.
Canon law
prohibits the College and the Camerlengo from introducing any
innovations or novelties in the government of the Church during
this period.
Status in international law
The Holy See has been recognized, both in
state
practice and in the writing of modern legal scholars, as a
subject of
public international
law, with rights and duties analogous to those of
States.
Although the Holy See, as distinct from the
Vatican
City
State, does not fulfil the long-established
criteria in international law of statehood; having a permanent population, a
defined territory, a stable government and the capacity to enter
into relations with other states, its possession of full legal
personality in international law
is proved by the fact that it maintains diplomatic relations with
177 states, that it is a member-state in various
intergovernmental international organizations, and that it is:
"respected by the international community of sovereign States and
treated as a subject of international law having the capacity to
engage in diplomatic relations and to enter into binding agreements
with one, several, or many states under international law that are
largely geared to establish and preserving peace in the
world."
Diplomacy
[[Image:Vatican relations.png|thumb|550px|Foreign relations with
the Holy See
]]
Since medieval times the episcopal see of Rome has been recognized
as a
sovereign entity.
The Holy See (not the
State of Vatican
City
) maintains formal diplomatic relations with 177
sovereign states, the European Union,
and the Sovereign
Military Order of Malta; 69 of the diplomatic missions
accredited to the Holy See are situated in Rome.
The Holy
See also has relations of a special nature with Russia
(Mission
with an Ambassador) and the Palestine Liberation
Organization (Office with a Director). The Holy See
maintains 179 permanent diplomatic missions abroad, of which 73 are
non-residential, so that many of its 106 concrete missions are
accredited to two or more countries or international organizations.
The diplomatic activities of the Holy See are directed by the
Secretariat of State
(headed by the
Cardinal
Secretary of State), through the Section for Relations with
States. There are 16 internationally-recognized states with which
the Holy See does not have relations.
The Holy See is the
only European subject of international law
that has diplomatic relations with Republic of China
(Taiwan
).
The Holy
See is a member of various International organizations and
groups including the International Atomic Energy
Agency
(IAEA), International
Telecommunication Union, the Organization
for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The Holy See is also
a permanent observer in various
international organizations, including the United Nations General
Assembly, the Council of
Europe, UNESCO
(United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), the
World Trade Organization
(WTO), and the Food
and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Relationship with the Vatican City and other territories
Although
the Holy See is closely associated with the Vatican City
, the independent territory over which the Holy See
is sovereign, the two entities are
separate and distinct. After the Italian
takeover of
the Papal
States
in 1870, the Holy See had no territorial
sovereignty. In spite of some uncertainty among jurists as to whether it could continue to act as an
independent personality in international matters, the Holy See
continued in fact to exercise the right to send and receive
diplomatic representatives, maintaining relations with states that
included the major powers of Russia
, Prussia and Austria-Hungary. Where, in accordance
with the decision of the 1815
Congress of Vienna, the
Nuncio was not only a member of the Diplomatic Corps
but its Dean, this arrangement continued to be accepted by the
other ambassadors. In the course of the 59 years during which the
Holy See held no territorial sovereignty, the number of states that
had diplomatic relations with it, which had been reduced to 16,
actually increased to 29.
The State of the Vatican City was created by the
Lateran Treaty in 1929 to "ensure the
absolute and visible independence of the Holy See" and "to
guarantee to it an indisputable sovereignty in international
affairs" (quotations from the treaty). Archbishop
Jean-Louis Tauran, the Holy See's former
Secretary for Relations with States, said that the Vatican City is
a "minuscule support-state that guarantees the spiritual freedom of
the Pope with the minimum territory".
The Holy See, not the Vatican City, maintains diplomatic relations
with states and participates in international organizations.
Foreign
embassies are accredited to the Holy
See, not to the Vatican City, and it is the Holy See that
establishes
treaties and
concordats with other sovereign entities. When
necessary, the Holy See will enter a treaty on behalf of the
Vatican City.
Under the
terms of the Lateran Treaty, the Holy See has extraterritorial authority over 23 sites in Rome and five Italian
sites outside of Rome, including the Pontifical Palace at
Castel
Gandolfo
. The
same authority is extended under
international law over the
Apostolic Nunciature of the Holy See in
a foreign country.
The terms "Holy See" and "Apostolic See"
Every
episcopal see is considered
holy. In Greek, the adjective "holy" or "sacred" ( ) is constantly
applied to all such sees as a matter of course. In the West, the
adjective is not commonly added, but it does form part of an
official title of two sees: as well as Rome, the
Bishopric of Mainz (the
former
Archbishopric of
Mainz), which was also of
electoral and
primatial rank, bears the title of "the
Holy See of Mainz" (Latin:
Sancta Sedes Moguntina).
The term "see" comes from the Latin word "sedes", meaning "seat",
which refers to the Episcopal throne (
cathedra). The term "
Apostolic See" can refer to any see founded by
one of the
Apostles, but, when used
with the definite article, it is used in the Catholic Church to
refer specifically to the see of the Bishop of Rome, whom that
Church sees as successor of
Saint Peter,
the chief of the
apostles.
See also
References
- The Holy See's sovereignty has been recognized explicitly in
many international agreements and is particularly emphasized in
article 2 of the Lateran Treaty of 11 February 1929, in which
"Italy recognizes the sovereignty of the Holy See in the
international field as an inherent attribute of its nature, in
conformity with its tradition, and the requirements of its mission
in the world."
- Code of Canon Law, canon 361, Code
of Canons of the Eastern Churches, canon 48
- The criteria for statehood where first authoritatively
enunciated at the Montevideo Convention on Rights and
Duties of States, signed on 26 December 1933.
- Robert Araujo and John Lucal, Papal
Diplomacy and the Quest for Peace, the Vatican and International
Organizations from the early years to the League of Nations,
Sapienza Press (2004), ISBN 1-932589-01-5, p. 16. See also
James Crawford, The Creation of States in International Law, (1979)
p. 154.
- Holy See Press Office
- Afghanistan,
Bhutan, Brunei, Comoros, Laos,
Malaysia,
the Maldives,
Mauritania,
Myanmar, North Korea, Oman, the People's Republic of China,
Saudi Arabia,
Somalia, Tuvalu and Vietnam. See:
- Lecture by Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo, 16 February
2006
- Lecture by Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran, 22 April
2002
- Bilateral and Multilateral Relations of the Holy
See
Further reading
Books
- La Due, William J. The Chair of Saint Peter: A History of
the Papacy. (ISBN 1-57075-249-4)
- Heribert Franz Koeck, Die völkerrechtliche Stellung des
Heiligen Stuhls. Dargestellt an seinen Beziehungen zu Staaten und
internationalen Organisationen, Berlin 1975
- Heribert Franz Koeck, Holy See, in: Encyclopedia of Public
International Law, Bd. 2, Oxford etc. 1995
External links