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TaylorMcGowanSecondPaper 10 - 12 Jul 2010 - Main.TaylorMcGowan
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| | | What is the Holy See? | |
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< | Although the two are often conflated, the Vatican and Holy See are actually different entities. The former is a city-state in Rome, while the latter is the preeminent episcopal see within the Catholic Church. Therefore, when the United States established diplomatic relations with the Holy See in 1984, it recognized a religious organization rather than a state. Despite lacking the prerequisite characteristics of statehood however, the international community has treated the Holy See as a sui generis entity, and the United States in particular has continually recognized the organization's status as a foreign sovereign and its right to invoke legal immunity under the FSIA. | >
> | Although the two are often conflated, the Vatican and Holy See are actually different entities. The former is a city-state in Rome, while the latter is the preeminent episcopal see within the Catholic Church. Therefore, when the United States established diplomatic relations with the Holy See in 1984, it recognized a religious organization rather than a state. While lacking many of the prerequisite characteristics for statehood should have precluded the Holy See from receiving such recognition, the international community has treated the Holy See as a sui generis entity, and the United States in particular has continually recognized Holy See's status as a foreign sovereign and its right to invoke legal immunity under the FSIA. | | | Why Sovereign Immunity Makes a Difference | | | Based on principles of sovereign autonomy and equality, sovereign immunity developed as a way to protect states from the legal intervention of another nation's courts. In the past this immunity was absolute, however developments over the past century have led international law towards a more restrictive concept of sovereign immunity that maintains legal protection for a state's official public functions but not for its private acts. This distinction between public and private acts, which is reflected in the exceptions to sovereign immunity contained the FSIA, indicates that sovereign immunity is designed to protect the type of governmental functions that the Holy See does not exercise.
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< | Outside of conducting diplomatic relations, the Holy See's official public activity is limited to ecclesial matters. Although Vatican City serves as the sovereign territory of the Holy See and the pope serves as its head-of-state, governance of Vatican City is handled by the Pontifical Commission for the Vatican City State and its President, Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo. The Roman Curia and the pope, rather than exercise any temporal power or perform any duties traditionally carried out by foreign sovereigns, instead focus solely on managing the Catholic Church and ruling over spiritual matters. | >
> | Outside of conducting diplomatic relations on behalf of the Church and serving as an observer to multiple international organizations, the Holy See's official public activity is limited to ecclesial matters. Although Vatican City serves as the sovereign territory of the Holy See and the pope serves as its head-of-state, governance of Vatican City is handled by the Pontifical Commission for the Vatican City State and its President, Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo. The Roman Curia and the pope, rather than exercise any temporal power or perform any duties traditionally carried out by foreign sovereigns, instead focus solely on managing the Catholic Church and ruling over spiritual matters. | | | While the Holy See concedes that it is a purely religious body, it nonetheless maintains that its extensive diplomatic relations and history as a member of the international community vindicate its status as a foreign sovereign. However, given the current understanding of sovereign immunity in international law, the Holy See's contention that its direction of the Catholic Church should be afforded legal protection is a tenuous proposition. |
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