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  • Title: The Holy See.
    Author: United States. Department of State. Bureau of Public Affairs.
    Journal: Backgr Notes Ser; 1987 Mar; ():1-4. PubMed ID: 12177949.
    Abstract:
    Focus in this discussion of the Holy See is on geography, the people, history, government and institutions, foreign relations, and relations with the US and the Holy See. Vatican City occupies 0.439 square kilometers (109 acres). Some 1000 individuals live within the Vatican's walls, most of whom are Italian or Swiss by nationality. Vatican citizenship usually is accorded only to those who reside in Vatican City by reason of office or employment and, with certain restrictions, to their families. The Pope delegates the internal administration of Vatican City to the Pontifical Commission for the State of the Vatican City, headed by the Cardinal Secretary of State. The legal system is based on canon law or the laws of the city of Rome. On February 11, 1929, the Holy See and the Italian government signed 3 agreements regulating a dispute since 1871 about the Law of Guarantees, law which sought to assure the Pope's spiritual freedom, an income, and special status for the Vatican area. The agreements include: a treaty recognizing the independence and sovereignty of the Holy See and creating the State of the Vatican City; a concordat fixing the relations between the government and the church within Italy; and a financial convention providing the Holy See with compensation for its losses in 1870. The Pope, at this time John Paul II, exercises supreme legislative, executive, and judicial power over the Holy See and within the State of the Vatican City. The Pope rules the Holy See through the Roman Curia and Papal Civil Service, which staffs it. The Holy See, which carries on an active diplomacy of considerable scope and variety, is particularly active diplomatically in international organizations. The US maintained consular relations with the Papal States from 1797-1870 and diplomatic relations with the Pope in his capacity as head of the Papal States. These relations lapsed with the final loss of all papal territories in 1870. In 1984, the US and the Holy See announced the establishment of diplomatic relations once again.
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