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1994-05-02
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<text>
<title>
Vatican City: History
</title>
<article>
<hdr>
Background Notes: Vatican City
History
</hdr>
<body>
<p> The Holy See has sent and received diplomatic missions since
the fourth century. For many centuries, the Popes held temporal
control over the Papal States, which included a broad band of
territory across central Italy, as well as the city of Rome. In
1861, at the time of the general unification of Italy, almost
all of the papal lands were acquired by the Kingdom of Italy,
following conquests by the Italian Army and popular plebicites.
The Pope's sovereignty was then confined to Rome and its
environs until 1870, when Rome itself was incorporated forcibly
into the new Kingdom. In 1871, the Italian Parliament enacted
the Law of Guarantees, which sought to assure the Pope's
spiritual freedom, an income, and special status for the Vatican
area. However, Pope Pius IX and his successors refused to
acknowledge the validity of these laws, preferring instead to
impose on themselves the status of prisoners in the Vatican.
This situation lasted until February 11, 1929, when the Holy See
and the Italian Government signed in the Lateran Palace the
following three agreements regulating the dispute:
</p>
<p>-- A treaty recognizing the independence and sovereignty of
the Holy See and creating the State of the Vatican City;
</p>
<p>-- A concordat fixing the relations between the government
and the church within Italy; and
</p>
<p>-- A financial convention providing the Holy See with
compensation for its losses in 1870.
</p>
<p>A revised concordat, altering the terms of church-state
relations, was signed February 18, 1984.
</p>
<p>Current Political Conditions
</p>
<p> Pope John Paul II, born in Poland, is the first non-Italian
Pope in nearly five centuries. Elected on October 16, 1978, he
succeeded John Paul I, whose reign lasted only 34 days. The
Pope exercises supreme legislative, executive, and judicial
power over the Holy See and within the State of the Vatican
City.
</p>
<p> The Pope rules the Holy See through the Roman Curia and its
staff, the Papal Civil Service. The Roman Curia consists of the
Secretariat of State, 9 Congregations (equivalent to
Ministries), 3 Tribunals, 12 Pontifical Councils, and a complex
of offices that administer church affairs at the highest level.
The Curia is directed and coordinated by the Secretariat of
State, under the Cardinal Secretary of State. The current
incumbent, Agostino Cardinal Casaroli, is the Holy See's
second-ranking official and is the equivalent of prime minister.
Archbishop Angelo Sodano, Secretary of the Section for Relations
With States of the Secretariat of State is, in effect, the
Vatican's foreign minister.
</p>
<p> Among the most active of the major Curial institutions are
the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which oversees
church doctrine; the Congregation for the Bishops, which
coordinates the appointment of bishops worldwide; the
Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, which oversees
all missionary, activities; and the Pontifical Council of
"Justice and Peace," which deals with international peace and
social issues.
</p>
<p> Three tribunals are responsible for judicial power. The
Apostolic Penitentiary deals with matters of conscience; the
Roman Rota is responsible for appeals, including annulments of
marriage; and the Apostolic Signatura is the final court of
appeal.
</p>
<p> The Prefecture for Economic Affairs coordinates the finances
of the Holy See departments and supervises the administration
of the Patrimony of the Holy See (an investment fund dating back
to the Lateran Pacts). A committee of 15 cardinals, chaired by
the Secretary of State, has final oversight authority over all
financial matters of the Holy See, including those of the
Institute for Religious Works (the Vatican bank).
</p>
<p>Source: U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Public Affairs,
April 1989.
</p>
</body>
</article>
</text>