The term "Vatican Diplomatic Corps", by contrast with the diplomatic service of the Holy See, properly refers to all those diplomats accredited to the Holy See, not those who represent its interests to other nations and international bodies. Since 1961, Vatican diplomats also enjoy diplomatic immunity.[4]
Since medieval times the episcopal see of Rome has been recognized as a sovereign entity. Earlier, there were papal representatives (apocrisiarii) to the Emperors of Constantinople, beginning in 453, but they were not thought of as ambassadors.[5]:64 In the eleventh century the sending of papal representatives to princes, on a temporary or permanent mission, became frequent.[5]:65 In the fifteenth century it became customary for states to accredit permanent resident ambassadors to the Pope in Rome.[5]:68 The first permanent papal nunciature was established in 1500 in Venice. Their number grew in the course of the sixteenth century to thirteen, while internuncios (representatives of second rank) were sent to less-powerful states.[5]:70 After enjoying a brilliant period in the first half of the seventeenth century, papal diplomacy declined after the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, being assailed especially by royalists and Gallicans, and the number of functioning nuncios was reduced to two in the time of Napoleon, although in the same period, in 1805, Prussia became the first Protestant state to send an ambassador to Rome. There was a revival after the Congress of Vienna in 1815, which, while laying down that, in general, the order of precedence between ambassadors would be determined by the date of their arrival, allowed special precedence to be given to the nuncio, by which he would always be the dean of the diplomatic corps.[6]
In spite of the extinction of the Papal States in 1870, and the consequent loss of territorial sovereignty, and 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.[7] Countries continued to receive nuncios as diplomatic representatives of full rank, and 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.[7]
With the First World War and its aftermath the number of states with diplomatic relations with the Holy See increased. For the first time since relations were broken between the Pope and Queen Elizabeth I of England, a British diplomatic mission to the Holy See was opened in 1914.[8] The result was that, instead of diminishing, the number of diplomats accredited to the Holy See grew from sixteen in 1870 to twenty-seven in 1929, even before it again acquired territorial sovereignty with the founding of the State of Vatican City.[9]
In the same period, the Holy See concluded a total of twenty-nine concordats and other agreements with states, including Austro-Hungary in 1881, Russia in 1882 and 1907, France in 1886 and 1923.[9] Two of these concordats were registered at the League of Nations at the request of the countries involved.[10]
While bereft of territorial sovereignty, the Holy See also accepted requests to act as arbitrator between countries, including a dispute between Germany and Spain over the Caroline Islands.[9]
The Lateran Treaty of 1929 and the founding of the Vatican City State was not followed by any great immediate increase in the number of states with which the Holy See had official relations. This came later, especially after the Second World War.
Since World War II, the Holy See's foreign relations are generally associated with the concept of soft power and generally seek to promote peace and humanitarian programs.[11]:181 The Holy See's foreign relations are less focused on traditional state interests like state security and the like.[11]:181
The Vienna Convention of 18 April 1961 also established diplomatic immunity for the Vatican's foreign diplomats.[4] Such immunity can only be revoked by the Holy See.[4]
Diplomatic relations
List of 183 countries which the Holy See maintains diplomatic relations with:
The Holy See, as a non-state sovereign entity and full subject of international law, started establishing diplomatic relations with sovereign states in the 15th century.[44] It had the territory of the States of the Church under its direct sovereign rule since centuries before that time. Currently it has the territory of the State of the Vatican City under its direct sovereign rule. In the period of 1870–1929 between the annexation of Rome by the Kingdom of Italy and the ratification of the Lateran Treaty establishing the current Vatican City State, the Holy See was devoid of territory. In this period some states suspended their diplomatic relations, but others retained them (or established such relations for the first time or reestablished them after a break), so that the number of states that did have diplomatic relations with the Holy See almost doubled (from 16 to 27) in the period between 1870 and 1929.[9]
By agreement with the government of Vietnam, it has a non-resident papal representative to that country.[47] It has official formal contacts, without establishing diplomatic relations, with: Afghanistan, Brunei, Somalia and Saudi Arabia.[48]
91 embassies to the Holy See are based in Rome.[45]
The Holy See is the only Europeansubject of international law to have diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (Taiwan), although there have been reports of informal talks between the Holy See and the government of the People's Republic of China on establishing diplomatic relations,[53] restoring the situation that existed when the papal representative, Antonio Riberi, was part of the diplomatic corps that accepted the Communist government military victory instead of withdrawing with the Nationalist authorities to Taiwan.[11]:183 He was later expelled,[11]:184 after which the Holy See sent its representative to Taipei instead.[11]:187
During the Algerian War of 1954–1962 the Holy See did not take sides[60] nor, in view of its pledge not to take part in temporal rivalries unless there was a mutual appeal to it,[61] was there Vatican mediation between the French government and the Algerian rebels who requested it.[62]
After Algeria became independent, Algeria maintained diplomatic ties with the Holy See and allowed Roman Catholic priests to continue ministering to the remaining Catholics in Algeria.[63]
Relations between the two States have been strained since the Rwanda genocide. Many bishops were under the ideological influence of the previous Hutu nationalist government, and the government of Paul Kagame has tried to purge the episcopacy of hostile elements.
Priests that participated in the killings behaved in a way no different from the majority of the population, a phenomenon which has led to a grave collective and spiritual guilt, and has led to the growth of Evangelical churches and Islamic organizations. In part, this has been attributed to an ethnic-based liberation theology, which was denounced by the Holy See in the 1970s and 1980s.
Although the Roman Catholic Church has been territorially established in what later became the independent state of Canada since the founding of New France in the early 17th century, Holy See–Canada relations were only officially established under the papacy of Paul VI in 1969.
After Holy See-Mexico diplomatic relations were broken off in 1861,[75] the Holy See assigned an Apostolic Delegate as resident representative in Mexico in 1904.[76] In 1992, after more than 130 years, the Mexican Government reestablished diplomatic relations with the Holy See and restored civil rights to the Roman Catholic Church in Mexico.[76][77]
Holy See has an Apostolic Nunciature in Mexico City.[78]
Mexico has an embassy in Rome to the Holy See.[79]
Holy See priorities included freedom of religion, inter-religious dialogue (particularly with the Muslim world), ecumenism, opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage, and peace (particularly for the Middle East). Pope Francis has also publicly expressed concern over the issue of climate change, describing the protection of the environment as a moral responsibility to safeguard God's creation.
The U.S. Embassy to the Holy See is located in Rome in the Villa Domiziana. The Nunciature to the United States is located in Washington, D.C., at 3339 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.
Diplomatic relations between the Holy See and China began in 1942, at that time the representative of China was the Republic of China (ROC). When the Chinese Communist Party won the Chinese Civil War and established the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949, the Holy See chose not to move its diplomatic representative to Taipei, Taiwan where the government of the Republic of China had retreated to. However, the Communist government expelled it, and the Holy See's diplomatic mission was then transferred to Taipei in 1951.
In 1971, when the seat of China at the United Nations was adjudicated to the government of the PRC, the Holy See continued to maintain formal diplomatic relations with China through the ROC.[11]:181
Since 1971, the Holy See maintains a downgraded Apostolic Nunciature in Taipei, but without a Nuncio. The mission is headed only by a chargé d'affaires who carries on the business of the diplomatic mission.
The diplomatic relationship is significant from the perspective of the ROC because its embassy to the Holy See is its only remaining embassy in Europe.[11]:181
The two countries have had formal diplomatic relations since 1954, since the pontificate of Pius XII, and have been maintained during Islamic revolution.[83] In 2008 relations between Iran and the Holy See were "warming", and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad "said the Vatican was a positive force for justice and peace" when he met with the Papal nuncio to Iran, Archbishop Jean-Paul Gobel.[84]
Holy See–Israel relations have officially existed since 1993 with the adoption of the fundamental agreement between the two parties. However, relations remain tense because of the non-fulfillment of the accords giving property rights and tax exemptions to the Church.
The etymology of Jordan comes from the Jordan River, which is significant to Christians because it was the place where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. Various Christian clerics in the Arab world have a Jordanian background, such as Maroun Lahham in Tunisia and Fouad Twal in Israel/Palestine.
The first Kuwaiti Ambassador to the Vatican was accredited in March 1973. As he presented his credentials to Pope Paul VI, the Pontiff treated the establishing of relations as a sign of growing tolerance within Kuwait.[85]
The Holy See and the State of Palestine established formal diplomatic relations in 2015, through the mutual signing of the Comprehensive Agreement between the Holy See and the State of Palestine.[55] An Apostolic Delegation (a non-diplomatic mission of the Holy See) denominated "Jerusalem and Palestine" had existed since 11 February 1948, and the Palestine Liberation Organization had established official (non diplomatic) relations with the Holy See in October 1994, with the opening of an office in Rome. The Holy See, along with many other states, supports a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine.
No official diplomatic relationship exists. There have been some important high-level meetings between Saudi and Vatican officials in order to discuss issues and organize dialogue between religions.
The Pope John Paul II visited the Republic of Korea twice during his pontificate in 1984 and 1989.[96] – the 1984 visit to Seoul was for the canonization of the 103 Korean martyrs held outside Rome in a break from tradition.[97]
In 2000, then President of the Republic of Korea Kim Dae Jung made a state visit to Vatican City the first South Korean head of state to do so.[98]
At present, the Holy See has comparatively good relations with Syria. It has sought to foster ecumenism between rival Christian factions in Antioch and to ensure the survival of age-old Christian communities in the country. The declaration Nostra aetate has made possible inter-faith dialogue and cooperation with Syrian Muslims.
Some Vatican leaders have also sought to foster greater political independence for Lebanon, which has been tied to Syria since the end of the Lebanese civil war. This call for Lebanese independence has traditionally been resisted by Syrian leaders.
John Paul II visited Syria in 2001 and was the first pope to have been to an Islamic mosque, the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus,[101] which includes the relics of John the Baptist.
1957: Established as Apostolic Delegation of Thailand and Malay Peninsula
1964: Renamed as Apostolic Delegation of Thailand, Laos and Malay Peninsula
1968.02.23: Renamed as Apostolic Delegation of Thailand (branched to create Apostolic Delegation of Laos, Malaysia and Singapore)
1969.08.28: Promoted as Apostolic Nunciature of Thailand
1983: Branched to create Apostolic Delegation of Malaysia and Brunei
1990: Branched to create Apostolic Delegation of Myanmar
1994.07.16: Branched to create Apostolic Nunciature of Cambodia[105]
2010.07.08: Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio, Vatican's Apostolic Nuncio to Thailand, paid a courtesy call on Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya on the occasion of the completion of his mission in Thailand.[106]
Pope Francis visited the United Arab Emirates in February 2019 and became the first pontiff to ever visit and hold papal mass in the Arabian Peninsula.[109]
The Holy See has is accredited to the United Arab Emirates through its nunciature in Kuwait City.
United Arab Emirates is accredited to the Holy See through its embassy in Madrid.
Diplomatic relations have not been established with Vietnam. An Apostolic Delegation (a papal mission accredited to the Catholic Church in the country but not officially to the Government) still exists on paper and as such is listed in the Annuario Pontificio; but since the end of the Vietnam War admittance of representatives to staff it has not been permitted. Temporary missions to discuss with the Government matters of common interest are sent every year or two.
Relations between France and the Catholic Church are very ancient and have existed since the fifth century AD, and have been durable to the extent that France is sometimes called the eldest daughter of the Church. Areas of cooperation between Paris and the Holy See have traditionally included education, health care, the struggle against poverty and international diplomacy. Before the establishment of the welfare state, Church involvement was evident in many sectors of French society. Today, Paris's international peace initiatives are often in line with those of the Holy See, who favors dialogue on a global level.
The Holy See established its Apostolic Nunciature to Greece in Athens in 1980. The Greek ambassador to the Holy See at first resided in Paris, where he was concurrently accredited to France; in 1988 a separate Greek embassy to the Holy See, situated in Rome, was established.
In May 2001, Pope John Paul II made a visit of pilgrimage to Greece.[121]
Diplomatic relations were established in 1977, but the Pope Paul VI in his greeting to the first Ambassador from Iceland referred to these relations as "the millenary ties between your people (i.e. of Iceland) and the Catholic Church".[122]
The majority of Irish people are Roman Catholic. The Holy See has a nunciature in Dublin. Ireland had, in Rome, an embassy to the Holy See. The government closed that embassy in 2011 for financial reasons; however, it re-opened the embassy in 2014.[123] Currently Ireland's representative to the Holy See is a 'non-resident ambassador',[123] who is an ordinary resident of Dublin.
Because of the small size of the Vatican City State, embassies accredited to the Holy See are based on Italian territory. Treaties signed between Italy and the Vatican City State permit such embassages. Like the Embassy of Italy, the Embassy of Andorra to the Holy See is also based on its home territory.
Portugal has one of the oldest relations with the Holy See; it received formal recognition as independent from Castile in 1179 and has always kept a strong relation with the Holy See following the maritime expansion and the Christianization of overseas territories. Relations suspended from 1640 to 1670, following the war against Spain (the Holy See did not recognise the Portuguese independence before the end of the war in 1668) and from 1911 to 1918 (following the proclamation of the Portuguese Republic in October 1910 and the approvation of the Law of Separation of the Church and the State). Concordats signed in 1940 and 2004.
Serbia has an embassy to the Holy See in Rome.[129]
The Holy See's decision to withhold recognition of Kosovo has led to a warming of relations with Serbia, undoing the tension with Yugoslavia that followed the Holy See's relatively speedy recognition of Croatia's independence.[130]
With the English Reformation, diplomatic links between London and the Holy See, which had been established in 1479, were interrupted in 1536 and again, after a brief restoration in 1553, in 1558. Formal diplomatic ties between the United Kingdom and the Holy See were restored in 1914 and raised to ambassadorial level in 1982.[135][136]
Since the establishment of diplomatic relations with the Holy See in 1973, Australia has maintained a non-resident Head of Mission, based in another European capital, as well as an office at the Holy See, headed by a Counsellor.
The Holy See has maintained an Apostolic Nunciature in Canberra since 1973.
On 21 July 2008, the Australian Government announced that it would appoint Tim Fischer as the first resident Ambassador to the Holy See. According to the Australian Foreign Ministry, this marked a significant deepening of Australia's relations with the Vatican since it would allow Australia to expand dialogue with the Vatican in areas including human rights, political and religious freedom, inter-faith dialogue, food security, arms control, refugees and anti-people trafficking, and climate change.[137] Fischer commenced his appointment on 30 January 2009, and presented credentials to Pope Benedict XVI on 12 February 2009.
In 1977, the Vatican established the Apostolic Nunciature of Papua New Guinea and Apostolic Delegation of Solomon Islands. The Holy See established its Apostolic Nunciature in Port Moresby, the capital and largest city in Papua New Guinea.[142]
Multilateral politics
Participation in international organizations
The Holy See is active in international organizations and is a member of the following groups:[143]
Although the Holy See is closely associated with Vatican City, the independent territory over which the Holy See is sovereign, the two entities are separate and distinct.
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."[147]
The Holy See, not Vatican City, maintains diplomatic relations with states, and foreign embassies are accredited to the Holy See, not to Vatican City State. It is the Holy See that establishes treaties and concordats with other sovereign entities and likewise, generally, it is the Holy See that participates in international organizations, with the exception of those dealing with technical matters of clearly territorial character,[143] such as:
Of the diplomatic missions accredited to the Holy See, 91 are situated in Rome, although those countries, if they also have an embassy to Italy, then have two embassies in the same city, since, by agreement between the Holy See and Italy, the same person cannot at the same time be accredited to both. The United Kingdom recently housed its embassy to the Holy See in the same building as its embassy to the Italian Republic, a move that led to a diplomatic protest from the Holy See. An ambassador accredited to a country other than Italy can be accredited also to the Holy See. For example, the embassy of India, located in Bern, to Switzerland and Liechtenstein is also accredited to the Holy See while the Holy See maintains an Apostolic Nunciature in New Delhi. For reasons of economy, smaller countries accredit to the Holy See a mission situated elsewhere and accredited also to the country of residence and perhaps other countries.
Rejection of ambassadorial candidates
It has been reported on several occasions that the Holy See will reject ambassadorial candidates whose personal lives are not in accordance with Catholic teachings. In 1973, the Vatican rejected the nomination of Dudley McCarthy as Australia's non-resident ambassador due to his status as a divorcee.[149] According to press accounts in Argentina in January 2008, the country's nominee as ambassador, Alberto Iribarne, a Catholic, was rejected on the grounds that he was living with a woman other than the wife from whom he was divorced.[150] In September 2008, French and Italian press reports likewise claimed that the Holy See had refused the approval of several French ambassadorial candidates, including a divorcee and an openly gay man.[151]
Massimo Franco, author of Parallel Empires, asserted in April 2009 that the Obama administration had put forward three candidates for consideration for the position of United States Ambassador to the Holy See, but each of them had been deemed insufficiently anti-abortion by the Vatican. This claim was denied by the Holy See's spokesman Federico Lombardi, and was dismissed by former ambassador Thomas Patrick Melady as being in conflict with diplomatic practice. Vatican sources said that it is not the practice to vet the personal ideas of those who are proposed as ambassadors to the Holy See, though in the case of candidates who are Catholics and who are living with someone, their marital status is taken into account. Divorced people who are not Catholics can in fact be accepted, provided their marriage situation is in accord with the rules of their own religion.[152]
Since the Holy See is legally capable of ratifying international treaties, and does ratify them, it has negotiated numerous bilateral treaties with states and it has been invited to participate – on equal footing with States – in the negotiation of most universal International law-making treaties. Traditionally, an agreement on religious matters between the Holy See of the Catholic Church and a sovereign state is called a concordat. This often includes both recognition and privileges for the Catholic Church in a particular country, such as exemptions from certain legal matters and processes, issues such as taxation, as well as the right of a state to influence the selection of bishops within its territory.
Bibliography
Breger, Marshall J. et al. eds. The Vatican and Permanent Neutrality (2022) excerpt
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Moody, Peter (2024). "The Vatican and Taiwan: An Anomalous Diplomatic Relationship". In Zhao, Suisheng (ed.). The Taiwan Question in Xi Jinping's Era: Beijing's Evolving Taiwan Policy and Taiwan's Internal and External Dynamics. London and New York: Routledge. ISBN9781032861661.
↑ Chou-seng, Tou[in Chinese] (2022). Memoir of Tou Chou-seng, Former Ambassador of the Republic of China to the Holy See飛鴻踏雪泥：中華民國前駐教廷大使杜筑生回憶錄 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Fu Jen Catholic University Press. p.365. ISBN9789860729313. President Chen asked for his seat. I explained that concierges of the Holy See are arranging seats according to the ranks of special envoys and the alphabetical order of French country names of attendant countries, and that we certainly will be at the front row because our French country name is "Chine" and our president is attending personally.陳總統問到他的座次，我解釋說，此時教廷禮賓官員正按特使團的層級及出席國家法文國名的字母次序安排座位，因為我國的法文明稱為“Chine”，又是總統親自出席，所以一定排在前列。
↑ Note On Appointment Of Apostolic Delegate To Kosovo:"being completely distinct from considerations regarding juridical and territorial situations or any other question inherent to the diplomatic activity of the Holy See."
↑ Cody, Edward (10 July 1991). "Mexico Inches Toward Closer Church Ties". The Washington Post. Retrieved 21 December 2012. Formal ties were cut in 1861 by a decree from Mexican president Benito Juarez that also ordered expulsion of the papal nuncio in the shortest time "absolutely necessary to prepare your trip."
1 2 Rohter, Larry (15 February 1990). "Mexico and Vatican Move Toward Restoring Ties". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 June 2009. After more than a century of estrangement, the Mexican Government and the Vatican are suddenly moving toward re-establishing formal diplomatic relations and are also having informal talks on restoring some civil rights to the Roman Catholic Church here.
↑ Golden, Tim (22 September 1992). "Mexico and the Catholic Church Restore Full Diplomatic Ties". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 September 2009. Mexico and the Vatican re-established full diplomatic relations today after a break of more than 130 years, completing a reconciliation based on the Government's restoration of legal rights to religious groups earlier this year.
↑ Israely, Jeff (26 November 2007). "Iran's Secret Weapon: The Pope". Time. Archived from the original on 28 November 2007. Retrieved 14 June 2009. ... Iran, which has had diplomatic relations with the Holy See for 53 years ...
↑ Moore, Malcolm (1 June 2008). "Pope Avoids Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad". Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 15 June 2009. Relations between Iran and the Holy See are warming, and Mr Ahmadinejad said the Vatican was a "positive force for justice and peace" in April after meeting with the new nuncio to Iran, Archbishop Jean-Paul Gobel. Benedict is also thought to have the support of several leading Shia clerics, including Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in Iraq.
↑ "Embassy of Thailand in Rome, Italy". EmbassyPages.com. 8 September 2010. Retrieved 9 September 2010. Head of Mission: Mr Vara-Poj Snidvongs, Ambassador
↑ "Almanac". United Press International. Retrieved 7 May 2009. In 2001, Pope John Paul II flew to Greece to begin a journey retracing the steps of the Apostle Paul through historic lands. ...[dead link]
↑ "Holy See". Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Archived from the original on 28 July 2008. Retrieved 17 September 2008. Formal diplomatic links between the United Kingdom and the Holy See were first established in 1479 when John Shirwood was appointed as the first resident Ambassador. Shirwood was also the first English Ambassador to serve abroad, making the embassy to the Holy See the oldest embassy in the UK diplomatic service.
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