The Holy See is the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, the episcopal
see of the Pope. It is the central point of reference for the Catholic Church everywhere
and the focal point of communion due to its prominence. It traces its origin to the apostolic
era, when Saint Peter arrived in Rome to evangelize and help the forming of a community of believers
there which maintained a significant Christian presence. Today, it is responsible for the
governance of those who follow the Catholic faith, organized in their local Christian
communities. The Holy See is viewed as analogous to a sovereign state, having a centralized
government, called the Roman Curia, with the Cardinal Secretary of State as its chief administrator
and various departments essential to administration comparable to ministries. It enters diplomatic
relations with states, and has Vatican City as its sovereign territory.
Diplomatically, the Holy See acts and speaks for the whole 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. Often incorrectly referred to as "the Vatican",
the "Holy See" is not the same entity as the "Vatican City State", which came into existence
only in 1929 because of the Lateran Treaty; the Holy See, the episcopal see of Rome, 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.
Though all episcopal sees may be considered "holy", the expression "the Holy See" is normally
used in international relations to refer to the See of Rome viewed as the central government
of the Catholic Church.
Terminology
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, which was also of electoral and primatial rank, bears the title
of "the Holy See of Mainz". The term "see" comes from the Latin word "sedes",
meaning "seat", which refers to the Episcopal throne. 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 Prince of the Apostles.
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 Tribunals, eleven Pontifical Councils,
and seven Pontifical Commissions. The Secretariat of State, under the Cardinal Secretary of
State, directs and coordinates the Curia. The incumbent, Archbishop Pietro Parolin,
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
minister of foreign affairs. Parolin was named in his role by Pope Francis On 31 August 2013.
Mamberti was named in his role 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 exercise judicial power. The
Roman Rota handles normal judicial appeals, the most numerous being those that concern
alleged nullity of marriage. The Apostolic Signatura is the supreme appellate and administrative
court concerning decisions even of the Roman Rota and administrative decisions of ecclesiastical
superiors, such as closing a parish or removing someone from office. It also oversees the
work of other ecclesiastical tribunals at all levels. The Apostolic Penitentiary deals
not with external judgments or decrees, but with matters of conscience, granting absolutions
from censures, dispensations, commutations, validations, condonations, and other favors;
it also grants 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. 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 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 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.
In 2001, the Holy See had a revenue of 422.098 billion Italian lire, and a net income of 17.720 billion
Italian lire. According to an article by David Leigh in the Guardian newspaper, a 2012 report
from the Council of Europe identified the value of a section of the Vatican's property
assets as an amount in excess of €680m; as of January 2013, Paolo Mennini, a papal
official in Rome, manages this portion of the Holy See's assets—consisting of British
investments, other European holdings and a currency trading arm. The Guardian newspaper
described Mennini and his role in the following manner: "... Paolo Mennini, who is in effect
the pope's merchant banker. Mennini heads a special unit inside the Vatican called the
extraordinary division of APSA – Amministrazione del Patrimonio della Sede Apostolica – which
handles the "patrimony of the Holy See"." 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 fulfill
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 shown
by the fact that it maintains diplomatic relations with 180 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
Since medieval times the episcopal see of Rome has been recognized as a sovereign entity.
The Holy See maintains formal diplomatic relations with and for the most recent establishment
of diplomatic relations with 180 sovereign states, and also with the European Union,
and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, as well as having relations of a special character
with the Palestine Liberation Organization; 69 of the diplomatic missions accredited to
the Holy See are situated in Rome. The Holy See maintains 180 permanent diplomatic missions
abroad, of which 74 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, through the Section for Relations
with States. There are 15 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 official diplomatic relations with the Republic of China.
The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office speaks of Vatican City as the "capital" of
the Holy See, although it compares the legal personality of the Holy See to that of the
Crown in Christian monarchies and declares that the Holy See and the state of Vatican
City are two international identities. It also distinguishes between the employees of
the Holy See and the 1,909 employees of the state. The British Ambassador to the Holy
See uses more precise language, saying that the Holy See "is not the same as the Vatican
City State. … is the universal government of the Catholic Church and operates from the
Vatican City State." This agrees exactly with the expression used by the website of the
United States Department of State, in giving information on both the Holy See and the Vatican
City State: it too says that the Holy See "operates from the Vatican City State".
The Holy See is a member of various International organizations and groups including the International
Atomic Energy Agency, International Telecommunication Union, the Organization for Security and Co-operation
in Europe, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees. The Holy See is also a permanent observer in various international
organizations, including the United Nations General Assembly, the Council of Europe, UNESCO,
the World Trade Organization, and the Food and Agriculture Organization.
Relationship with the Vatican City and other territories
The Holy See participates as an observer in AU, Arab League, Council of Europe, OAS, IOM,
and in the United Nations and its agencies FAO, ILO, UNCTAD, UNEP, UNESCO, UN-HABITAT,
UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, WFP, WHO, WIPO. It participates as a guest in NAM, and as a full member in
IAEA, OPCW, OSCE. 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". 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. 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
various sites in Rome and two 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.
Military
Though, like various European powers, earlier Popes recruited Swiss mercenaries as part
of an army, the Pontifical Swiss Guard was founded by Pope Julius II on 22 January 1506
as the personal bodyguard of the Pope and continues to fulfil that function. It is listed
in the Annuario Pontificio under "Holy See", not under "State of Vatican City". At the
end of 2005, the Guard had 134 members. Recruitment is arranged by a special agreement between
the Holy See and Switzerland. All recruits must be Catholic, unmarried males with Swiss
citizenship who have completed their basic training with the Swiss Army with certificates
of good conduct, be between the ages of 19 and 30, and be at least 175 cm in height.
Members are armed with small arms and the traditional halberd, and trained in bodyguarding
tactics. The police force within Vatican City, known
as the Corps of Gendarmerie of Vatican City, belongs to the city state, not to the Holy
See. Coat of arms
As indicated in the article on the coats of arms of the Holy See and Vatican City, the
difference between the two coats of arms is that the arms of the Holy See have the gold
key in bend and the silver key in bend sinister, while the reversed arrangement of the keys
was chosen for the arms of the newly founded Vatican City State in 1929.
See also
Diocese of Rome Global organisation of the Catholic Church
Patriarchate Apostolic see
Index of Vatican City-related articles References
Further reading Köck, Heribert F.. Die Völkerrechtliche
Stellung Des Heiligen Stuhls: Dargestellt an Seiner Beziehungen Zu Staaten Und Internationalen
Organisationen. Berlin: Duncker und Humblot. ISBN 3-428-03355-8.
Köck, Heribert F.. "Holy See". In Bernhardt, Rudolf; Macalister-Smith, Peter. Max Planck
Encyclopedia of Public International Law 2. Amsterdam: North-Holland. ISBN 0-444-86245-5.
La Due, William J.. The Chair of Saint Peter: A History of the Papacy. Maryknoll, N.Y: Orbis
Books. ISBN 1-57075-249-4. External links
The Holy See The Holy See News Portal
The Vatican's channel on YouTube Primacy of the Apostolic See
CIA World Factbook on Holy See Between Venus and Mars, the Church of Rome
Chooses Both—The Holy See’s geopolitics analyzed in the light of the dominant doctrines
The Holy See in the course of time, from an Orthodox perspective