Vatican

The Vatican, the central governing body of the Roman Catholic Church, is probably the most ancient player on the global political and cultural scene. Also known in international law as the Holy See or the Papacy, the Vatican plays the role of a transnational authority, which can be explained by several factors: its history of creating transnational institutions, its authority over the largest religious community in the world, and its worldwide political activities.

During the Middle Ages, the bishop of Rome was regarded by the faithful as the successor of the apostle Peter and thus the vicar of God, which put him in the position of being not only the lord of the Christian church but also the highest political authority in the world. The separation from the Eastern Orthodox and then the Protestant churches and the rise of modern states reduced this claim. But these losses were compensated by the Catholic missions during the colonial expansion of Europe, during which time Catholic communities were established in most countries of the world. With the breakdown of the ancien régime in Europe circa 1800, the political claims of the papacy came to an end; instead, the popes established their control over the community of the faithful and the institutional church at Vatican Council I in 1870. To replace the control of the papal states that were lost in that same year, the Lateran Pacts with Italy in 1929 created the tiny neutral state of Vatican City as the base of the pope's political independence.

For the control of their church and for their political activities, the popes created a statelike organization with the Roman Curia and the cardinals at the center. In the present day, the Cardinal Secretary of State has become a kind of papal prime minister responsible not only for papal diplomacy as before but also for the coordination of the curia. The Cardinal Prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, the former Roman Inquisition, is of outstanding importance as guardian of orthodoxy und morality. Nine such congregations of cardinals and other members administer different fields of ecclesiastical life. Recently, in addition to ancient law courts and offices, 11 Pontifical Councils have been created as instruments of consultation and communication for the promotion of Christian unity, for interreligious dialogue, for the promotion of justice and peace, for the pastoral care of migrants, for social communication, and so on.

Traditionally the personnel of the curia were recruited from Italy. From 1523 to 1978, all popes were Italians. After World War II, however, the central government of the Roman Catholic Church became more international. In 1939, 56.5% of the cardinals were Italians and 88.8% Europeans. In 1994, these percentages had changed to 16.7% and 45.9%, whereas 27.5% of the cardinals came from the Americas, 12.5% from Asia, 10.8% from [Page 1738]Africa, and 3.3% from Australasia. In 1978 and 2005, non-Italian popes were elected. However, the curia is still filled with people who have been socialized in the traditional sense, in particular by the papal universities and national colleges for young priests at Rome.

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