Holy See

Subject – IR

Context – On October 30 last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Pope Francis at the Vatican

Concept –

The Pope is not a “head of state” in the conventional sense nor does the UN recognise him as one.
Under the Lateran Treaty, a purely bilateral one entered in 1929, King Victor Emanuel of Italy had granted the Vatican independent status. It has neither separate citizenship nor any formal government.
What was admitted at the UN in 1948 as a “non-member state” with only an observer status was not the Vatican but the “Holy See”.
The “Holy See” is the supreme governing body of Catholic churches the world over.
- The Holy See also called the See of Rome or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome, known as the Pope.
- The Holy See is thus viewed as the central government of the Catholic Church.
- The Catholic Church, in turn, is the largest non-government provider of education and health care in the world.
- The Holy See maintains bilateral diplomatic relations with 183 sovereign states, signs concordats and treaties, and performs multilateral diplomacy with multiple intergovernmental organizations, including the United Nations and its agencies.
The Pope is designated as its head, not through any political process but under canon law.
Vatican City is regarded only as the “vassal” territory of the Holy See.