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WHY NOW?
Pope Francis died on Monday (April 21), aged 88, after a long illness. He had been hospitalised in February for a long spell of bilateral pneumonia, and spent over a month in medical care before returning to his residence to continue his recovery.
The Pope is the visible head of the Catholic Church, which regards Jesus Christ as its invisible head. He is also the Bishop of Rome.
The Holy See is the central governing body of the Church and Vatican City, which enjoys formal diplomatic relations with other nations.
As the supreme pontiff, the Pope’s office or the Papacy presides over the Holy See.
No, while the terms are used interchangeably, the two are not the same entity.
The Vatican City is the world’s smallest country, and the city-state that serves as the seat of the Catholic Church. The Holy See is, quite simply, its government, and effectively the government of the Catholic Church.
This dichotomy was established by the Lateran Treaty of 1929, which established the Vatican City as an independent state under the sovereignty of the Holy See. According to an article in the International Center for Law and Religion Studies, the Holy See has existed since early Christian times, while papal representatives are accredited to the Holy See, not representing the Vatican.
Its jurisdiction empowers it to make decisions on matters of faith and morality for the 1.3 billion Catholics located worldwide.
In international law, the Holy See occupies the status of a sovereign juridical entity. While the Holy See does not meet the established criteria for statehood (namely a permanent population, a defined territory, a stable government and capacity to enter into relations with other states), it still possesses a full legal personality in international law by virtue of the diplomatic relations it enjoys with 180 states and its membership in several international organisations.
Additionally, the Holy See 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.” (Papal Diplomacy and the Quest for Peace, John A. Lucal and Robert John Araujo, 2005)
No. The status of the Holy See is unaffected by Sede Vacante (the seat is vacant), the period commencing when the papacy becomes vacant following the death or resignation of a pope. The Holy See continues to function as a non-territorial institution even when there is no pope.
Through the Roman Curia, the central body and the administrative institutions of the Catholic Church. The Curia comprises the Secretariat of State, the dicasteries (departments of the Church comparable to ministries) and the Bodies, all of which are juridically equal. The Cardinal Secretary of State, currently Cardinal Pietro Parolin, functions as its chief administrator.
