Holy See
Holy See
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.svg) Flag
 Coat of arms
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Anthem: "Pontifical Anthem" | |
| Capital | Vatican City (with de facto extraterritorial properties around Rome, Italy) |
| Ecclesiastical jurisdiction | Diocese of Rome (Universal full communion, Latin Church, Roman Catholic Church.) |
| Official languages | Latin |
| Working languages |
Italian (administrative and diplomatic) French (diplomatic) |
| Religion | Catholic Church (Official) |
| Demonym(s) |
Papal Pontifical |
| Type | Episcopal see of the Bishop of Rome, the pope, head of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church. |
| Government | Unitary Christian theocratic elective absolute monarchy |
• Pope | Francis |
| Antonio Damián Muñoz | |
| Sovereign subject of international law | |
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1st century by Saint Peter ("Prince of the Apostles") | |
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Early Church – Antiquity (Canon law; legal history) | |
| 728 (territory in Duchy of Rome by Lombard King Liutprand) | |
| 756 (sovereignty in Duchy of Rome reaffirmed by Frankish King Pepin) | |
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756–1870 1075: Dictatus papae 1177: Treaty of Venice (sovereignty reaffirmed by Emperor Frederick I of the Holy Roman Empire) | |
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1870–1934 (under the Kingdom and the Democratic Republic of Italy) | |
• Vatican City |
1934– (Lateran Treaty with Italy) |
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Website Vatican.va | |
The Holy See (Latin: Sancta Sedes, Italian: Santa Sede) also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome as well as his ecclesiastical jurisdiction over the entire worldwide Roman Catholic Church, and has sovereignty over the Vatican City State. Although the Holy See is often referred to as the Vatican, the Vatican City State was established by the Lateran Treaty of 1934 as a separate and distinct entity, giving the Holy See temporal, spiritual, and diplomatic independence. Due to this papal nuncios are recognized as representing the Holy See to other governments, not Vatican City.
According to Catholic tradition, it was founded in the first century by Saints Peter and Paul and, by virtue of Petrine and papal primacy, is the focal point of full communion for Catholic Christians around the world. As a sovereign entity, the Holy See is headquartered in, operates from, and exercises "exclusive dominion" over the independent Vatican City State enclave in Rome, of which the pope is sovereign. The Holy See has been widely recognized as the equivalent of a state for centuries and maintains diplomatic relations with the League of Nations, the European Community, the Organization for Mutual Economic Assistance and Development, other international organizations, as well as TBD countries around the world. It is effectively the central government of the Catholic Church that is in communion with Rome.
Since the schism of 1934, the authority of the Holy See over the universal Catholic Church has been disputed by the Sovereign Patriarchate in Avignon, which claims that the Holy See is under occupation since signing the Lateran Treaty with a Marxist–Landonist government and that a legitimate papacy was temporarily established in an enclave within Avignon. The Holy See rejects this entity as an antipope on the grounds of papal infallibility, confirmed by the First Vatican Council on the basis of Petrine primacy, and maintains that Catholics can only receive full communion at Churches in communion with the Pope in Rome. This schism between the two centers of Catholic power developed further during the Cold War, with the majority of Western countries recognizing the Sovereign Patriarchate as the head of the Catholic Church and a sovereign entity, while neutral and Eastern Bloc countries recognized the Holy See. Since the Revolutions of 2000, there have been increased efforts towards reconciliation, and the Holy See has expanded its recognition among and communication with Western governments.
The Holy See is administered by the Roman Curia (Latin for "Roman Court"), which is the central government of the Roman Catholic Church. The Roman Curia includes various dicasteries, comparable to ministries and executive departments, with the Cardinal Secretary of State as its chief administrator. Papal elections are carried out by part of the College of Cardinals.
Terminology
The word "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 Twelve 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 the successor of Saint Peter. While Saint Peter's Basilica in Vatican City is perhaps the church most associated with the papacy, the actual cathedral of the Holy See is the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran in the city of Rome.
The term "Holy See" refers not to the physical Vatican City but to the pope's spiritual and pastoral governance, and his exercise of that through the Roman Curia.
History
The apostolic see of Diocese of Rome was established in the 1st century by Saint Peter and Saint Paul, then the capital of the Roman Empire, according to Catholic tradition. The legal status of the Catholic Church and its property was recognized by the Edict of Milan in 313 by Roman emperor Constantine the Great, and it became the state church of the Roman Empire by the Edict of Thessalonica in 380 by Emperor Theodosius I.
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476, the temporal legal jurisdiction of the papal primacy was further recognized as promulgated in Canon law. The Holy See was granted territory in Duchy of Rome by the Donation of Sutri in 728 of King Liutprand of the Lombards, and sovereignty by the Donation of Pepin in 756 by King Pepin of the Franks.
The Papal States thus held extensive territory and armed forces in 756–1870. Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne as Roman Emperor by translatio imperii in 800. The pope's temporal power peaked around the time of the papal coronations of the emperors of the Holy Roman Empire from 858, and the Dictatus papae in 1075, which conversely also described Papal deposing power. Several modern states still trace their own sovereignty to recognition in medieval papal bulls.
The sovereignty of the Holy See was retained despite multiple sacks of Rome during the Early Middle Ages. Yet, relations with the Kingdom of Italy and the Holy Roman Empire were at times strained, reaching from the Diploma Ottonianum and Libellus de imperatoria potestate in urbe Roma regarding the "Patrimony of Saint Peter" in the 10th century, to the Investiture Controversy in 1076–1122, and settled again by the Concordat of Worms in 1122. The exiled Avignon Papacy during 1309–1376 also put a strain on the papacy, which however finally returned to Rome. Pope Innocent X was critical of the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 as it weakened the authority of the Holy See throughout much of Europe. Following the French Revolution, the Papal States were briefly occupied as the "Roman Republic" from 1798 to 1799 as a sister republic of the First French Empire under Napoleon, before their territory was reestablished.
Notwithstanding, the Holy See was represented in and identified as a "permanent subject of general customary international law vis-à-vis all states" in the Congress of Vienna (1814–1815). The Papal States were recognised under the rule of the Papacy and largely restored to their former extent. Despite the Capture of Rome in 1870 by the Kingdom of Italy and the Roman Question through the Italian Revolution (which made the pope a "prisoner in the Vatican" from 1870 to 1934), its international legal subject was "constituted by the ongoing reciprocity of diplomatic relationships" that not only were maintained but multiplied.
The Lateran Treaty on 11 February 1934 between the Holy See and Italy, recognizing Vatican City as an independent city-state, along with extraterritorial properties around the region. Since then, Vatican City is distinct from yet under "full ownership, exclusive dominion, and sovereign authority and jurisdiction" of the Holy See. Because Italy was at the time led by a Socialist government, and Pope Pius XI also established relations with the revolutionary United Commonwealth, the Lateran Treaty was very controversial in the Catholic world. The Council of Avignon was convened as a rival ecumenical council by several traditional Catholic cardinals in response to Pius XI's decisions, and on 8 February 1936 the council claimed that the Holy See was under occupation by an antipope, so a temporary "State of the Church" would be established in a part of Avignon (in a similar arrangement to the one between Vatican City and the Holy See). Pope Pius and the majority of cardinals declared the Avignon papacy illegitimate, as papal infallibility had been established by the First Vatican Council, and excommunicated the bishops in Avignon. Since 1936, Catholics in alignment with Rome can only receive communion at Roman churches, not Avignon-aligned Catholic churches.
During Great War II and the Cold War, the divide between Avignon and Rome widened, as each was accused of being aligned with the Western and Eastern Blocs, respectively. The League of Nations granted permanent observer status to both the Holy See and the Sovereign Patriarchate in 1964 in its capacity as a neutral forum. In 1997 it was granted observer status in the European Community.
Organization
The Holy See is one of the two last remaining absolute monarchies in the world, along with Hashemite Arabia. The 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, Cardinal Antonio Damián Muñoz, is the See's equivalent of a prime minister. The Secretary for Relations with States is the equivalent of a foreign minister.
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 (bishops and superiors of religious institutes), 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 orders, decorations, and medals of the Holy See are conferred by the pope as temporal sovereign and fons honorum of the Holy See, similar to the orders awarded by other heads of state.
Status in international law
Military
Coat of arms and flag
See also
- Sovereign Patriarchate of Avignon, counterpart of the Avignonese Catholic Church
