|
Vatican City, formally the State of the Vatican City or Vatican City State (Latin: Status Civitatis Vaticanae; Italian: Stato della Città del Vaticano) is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of an almost completely walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. At approximately 44 hectares (108.7 acres) it is a microstate and the smallest independent nation in the world. It was created in 1929 by the Lateran Treaty as a vestige of the much larger former Papal States (756 AD to 1870). Although governed by the Bishop of Rome (the Pope), the Vatican City State is not the Holy See and its government is a monarchy even though it is sometimes described as ecclesiastical and the highest state functionaries are indeed clergymen. It is the sovereign territory of the Holy See (Latin:Sancta Sedes) and the location of the Apostolic Palace – the Pope's official residence – and the Roman Curia. Thus, although the principal ecclesiastical seat of the Holy See (Basilica of St. John Lateran, which is the pope's cathedral) is located in Rome itself, the Vatican City can be said to be the governmental capital of the Catholic Church.
The territory
The Head of state The Pope is ex officio head of state and head of government of Vatican City. He is simultaneously and primordially the bishop of the Diocese of Rome, the Holy See, and the leader of the Catholic religion. His official title with regard to Vatican City is Sovereign of the State of the Vatican City. The pope is a non-hereditary monarch who exercises absolute authority, that is to say supreme legislative, executive and judicial power over the Vatican City. This, in effect, makes the pope the last absolute European monarch. The pope is elected for a life term in conclave by cardinals under the age of 80. His principal subordinate government officials for Vatican City are the Secretary of State, the President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State, and the Governor of Vatican City. The current Pope is Benedict XVI, born Joseph Ratzinger in Germany. Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone of Italy is the Secretary of State. Italian Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo serves as both the President of the Pontifical Commission and Governor. Both Bertone and Lajolo were appointed by Pope Benedict in September, 2006. History
Government For historical reasons, the government of Vatican City has a unique structure. As noted, the principal figures are the Secretary of State, the President of the Pontifical Commission for the Vatican City State, and the Governor of Vatican City. These, like all other officials, are appointed by the Pope and can be dismissed by him at any time. During a sede vacante (papal vacancy), the Chamberlain of the Holy Roman Church, former Secretary of State, and former President of the Pontifical Commission form a commission that performs some of the functions of the head of state; while another made up of the Chamberlain and three cardinals (one being chosen by lot every three days from each order of cardinals), performs other functions of the head of state. All decisions of these commissions must be approved by the College of Cardinals. The State of the Vatican City, as created by the Lateran Treaty, enables the Holy See (the Diocese of Rome) to exist with a temporal jurisdiction, territorial identity, recognition, and independence within a small territory as a true nation-state in the eyes of other nations after the loss of the Papal States in 1870. The Vatican City State is not the Holy See. The Vatican City can thus be deemed a trivial subset of the Holy See, very significant but not essential. The Holy See has existed continuously as a juridical entity since Roman Imperial times and had been recognized by other sovereigns, nations and foreign powers as a powerful and independent sovereign (even suzerain) entity since late antiquity to the present, even during periods when it held no territory (e.g. 1870 to 1929). The Holy See has the oldest active continuous diplomatic representation or service in the world. Indeed, other nations have their diplomatic relations with the Holy See, never the Vatican City State. Thus, as far as the nation-state of the Vatican is concerned, its Head of State, the Sovereign of the State of the Vatican City, is the pope. As far as it is concerned, the pope is its absolute monarch — who just happens to be a priest. The hierarchy of the Catholic Church as governed by the Holy See is the proper ecclesiastical government. This is not necessarily the case for the Vatican City State. In fact, prior to the reforms made by Pope Paul VI (b. Sep. 26, 1897-d. Aug. 6, 1978, pope Jun. 21, 1963-Aug. 6, 1978), a large number of nobles existed within the government of the Vatican. A noble class still exists today that continues to form part of the papal court drawn from the ranks of Roman and European nobility. The size of the papal court, however, had been reduced to a great extent after the reforms made by Pope Paul VI in the 1970s. All cardinals, however, continue to have the royal rank of prince of the blood. Its royal character is a vestige of the temporal power of the popes who have ruled the Papal States for more than a thousand years and, prior to the Papal States, as the highest civil authority of the Roman and Byzantine empires in Rome since late antiquity. Therefore, within this context, the State of the Vatican City is a true monarchy in every sense of the word. Administration of Vatican City The Governor of Vatican City, sometimes known as the President of Vatican City, has duties similar to those of a mayor or city executive, concentrating on material questions concerning the state's territory, including local security, but excluding external relations. The Vatican City maintains two modern security corps, the Swiss Guards, a voluntary military force drawn from male Swiss citizens, and the Corpo della Gendarmeria dello Stato della Città del Vaticano. Legislative power is vested in the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State, led by a president. Members are cardinals appointed by the pope for terms of five years. The judicial functions are handled by three tribunals — the Apostolic Signatura, the Sacra Rota Romana, and the Apostolic Penitentiary, which are also the judicial arm of the Holy See (see below). The legal system is based on canon, or ecclesiastical, law; if Canon Law is not applicable, special laws of the territory apply, often modelled on Italian provisions. Military The Vatican City State has the distinction of having the smallest and oldest regular army in the world, the Swiss Guards. It was founded by Pope Julius II on January 22, 1506 originally made up of Swiss mercenaries from the Swiss Confederation. They currently number a little over 100 men and are also the personal bodyguards of the Pope. Recruitment is restricted to Catholic male Swiss citizens. The Palatine Guard of Honor and the Noble Guards were disbanded during the reign of Pope Paul VI. The Vatican gendarmes act as the internal police force. The Vatican has no navy and no airforce. External defense is handled by Italy. Communications Vatican City has its own post office, fire brigade, police service, commissary (supermarket), bank (the automatic teller machines are the only ones in the world to offer customers service in Latin, among other languages), railway station, electricity generating plant, and publishing house. The Vatican also controls its own Internet domain (.va). Vatican Radio, which was organized by Guglielmo Marconi himself, today offers not only short-wave service around the world, but also television services through Vatican Television and is available on the Internet. L'Osservatore Romano is the semi-official newspaper, published daily in Italian, and weekly in English, Spanish, Portuguese, German, and French (plus a monthly edition in Polish). It is published by a private corporation under the direction of Catholic laymen but carries official information. Acta Apostolicae Sedis is the official publication of the Holy See, carrying the official texts of Church documents, but is little read other than by scholars and Church professionals. Geography
Economy This unique, non-commercial economy is also supported financially by contributions (known as Peter's Pence) from Catholics throughout the world, the sale of postage stamps and tourist mementos, fees for admission to museums, and the sale of publications. The incomes and living standards of lay workers are comparable to, or somewhat better than, those of counterparts who work in the city of Rome. The Vatican City issues its own coins. It has used the euro as its currency since January 1, 1999, owing to a special agreement with the EU (council decision 1999/98/CE). Euro coins and notes were introduced in January 1, 2002. Due to their rarity, Vatican euro coins are highly sought by collectors. Until the adoption of the Euro, Vatican coinage and stamps were denominated in their own Vatican lira currency, which was on par with the Italian lira. It also has its own bank, Istituto per le Opere di Religione (also known as the Vatican Bank, and with the acronym IOR). Demographics
Citizenship Citizenship of the Vatican City is granted ius officii, which means it is conferred upon those who have been appointed to work at the Vatican, and it is usually revoked upon the termination of their employment. During the period of employment citizenship may also be extended to a Vatican citizen's spouse (unless the marriage is annulled or dissolved, or if a conjugal separation is decreed) and children (until they turn 25 if they are capable of working, or in the case of daughters, if they marry). Terms of citizenship are defined in the Lateran Treaty, and laws concerning the creation of the Vatican state in 1929 sought to restrict the number of people who could be granted Vatican citizenship. The only passports issued by the Vatican are diplomatic passports. On 31 December 2002 there were 555 people with Vatican citizenship, of whom all are dual-citizens of other countries (the majority being Italian). The Lateran Treaty states that in the event a Vatican citizen has their original nationality revoked and also lose their Vatican citizenship, they will be automatically granted Italian citizenship. Among the 555 were: Foreign relations Providing a territorial identity for the Holy See, the State of the Vatican City is a recognized national territory under international law. However, it is the Holy See that is the legal body that conducts diplomatic relations for the Vatican City in addition to the Holy See's usual diplomacy, entering into international agreements and both receives and sends diplomatic representatives. Due to the very limited territory of the Vatican state, foreign embassies to the Holy See are located in the Italian part of Rome; Italy actually hosts its own Embassy of Italy. The Holy See is currently the only European political entity that has formal diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (Taiwan). Despite its minuscule size, as the veritable headquarters of the Catholic Church, the Vatican's influence on world affairs is disproportionately immense by virtue of its moral and spiritual authority. Culture The Vatican City is itself of great cultural significance. Buildings such as St. Peter's Basilica and the Sistine Chapel are home to some of the most famous art in the world, which includes works by artists such as Botticelli, Bernini and Michelangelo. The Vatican Library and the collections of the Vatican Museums are of the highest historical, scientific and cultural importance. In 1984, the Vatican was added by UNESCO to the List of World Heritage Sites; it is the only one to consist of an entire country. The Vatican can be said to be the de facto custodian of the Latin language through its Latinitas Foundation. The permanent population of the Vatican City is predominately male, although two orders of nuns live in the Vatican. A minority are senior Catholic clergy; the remainder are members of religious orders. Many workers and embassy personnel in the Vatican City live outside its walls. Tourism and pilgrimages are an important factor in the daily life of the Vatican. The Pope leads weekly Mass and other services, and appears on religious holidays such as Easter. On significant events, such as beatification ceremonies, he leads open-air Mass in Saint Peter's Square. Dress code A dress code is enforced for entry into St. Peter's Basilica. The code is based upon what is considered "modest" and "appropriate" dress for visiting a Catholic religious venue, and tourists and visitors are reminded that though St. Peter's is an architectural and artistic monument, it is first a church. The dress code forbids: Crime As a result of the Vatican having a small resident population, but millions of visitors every year, the state has the highest per capita crime rate of any nation on earth, more than twenty times higher than that of Italy. In his 2002 report to the pontifical court, Chief Prosecutor Nicola Picardi quoted statistics of 397 civil offenses and 608 penal offenses. Each year, hundreds of tourists fall victim to pickpockets and purse snatchers. The perpetrators, who are also visitors, are rarely caught, with 90% of crimes remaining unsolved.• As per the 1929 Lateran Treaty between the Holy See and Italy, the Italian government handles the prosecution and detention of criminal suspects. The most recent murders to occur in the Vatican were in 1998, when a member of the Swiss Guard killed two people before committing suicide. The Vatican abolished capital punishment in 1969 but its last execution was performed by its predecessor, the Papal States on the 9th of July 1870 at Palestrina, when Agabito (or Agapito) Bellomo was decapitated (probably by guillotine) for murder. Transport and communications The Vatican City has no airports. There is one heliport and an 852 metre (932 yd) standard gauge (1435 mm or 4 ft 8½ in) railway that connects to Italy's network at Rome's Saint Peter's station. The station building by architect Giuseppe Momo was constructed during the reign of Pius XI after the conclusion of the Lateran Treaties and opened in 1933 but now houses shops. The railway was originally planned to transport pilgrims as was intended during the reign of Pius XI but have only been rarely used to transport passengers. Pope John XXIII was the first to make use of the railway and Pope John Paul II was known to have used it as well very rarely. The railway is mainly used only to transport freight. Rome's metro line A passes about 10 minutes walk north of the Vatican. The City is served by an independent, modern telephone system and post office. A bit of conventional wisdom in Rome is that international mail dropped in a mailbox in the Vatican will reach its destination more quickly than one dropped only a few hundred metres away in an Italian mailbox. To quote an article from the New York Times on June 27, 2004: "As a result, more mail is sent each year, per inhabitant, from the Vatican's 00120 post code than from anywhere else in the world - 7,200, compared with about 660 in the United States or 109 in Italy - said Juliana Nel, a spokeswoman for the Universal Postal Union, a United Nations agency based in Berne, Switzerland. She called the Vatican's service "probably one of the best postal systems in the world."• People sending mail to the Vatican are advised not to write anything other than Vatican City State for the destination on the envelope. The reason for this is that this enables mail to be sent directly to the Vatican - otherwise it would go through the postal systems of other countries, which would cause a delay in shipment to the Vatican. The Vatican has an official website, radio station, and satellite TV channels. One lucrative source of income for the state is a two-pump gasoline station where Italians can buy gas at prices up to 30% lower than in Italy, because the gas is not taxed. However, only people with special residence or work permits may use the station. See also
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
| |