Vatican

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Vatican

The Vatican is the organizational center of the transnational Roman Catholic Church and is the official residence of the pope and the various congregations and committees of the Roman Curia who are responsible for the theological and administrative governance of the church. Vatican City, where St. Peter's Basilica is located, is an independent, sovereign state surrounded by Rome and has the pope as its monarchical head. The Vatican therefore is independently both a religious and a political locus of authority. Not only does it have national conferences of bishops overseeing its multiple religious and political interests in particular countries, but in addition, as a political/secular power, it also has papal nuncios or ambassadors posted in many countries, including the United States, with whom it has exchanged ambassadors since 1984. It is the Vatican, whether the pope himself and/or its various bureaucratic offices, that determines the official stance of the Catholic Church on the broad array of issues with which the contemporary church is engaged, including questions of doctrine and faith, church rules and procedures, interfaith dialogue, diplomatic initiatives, and public policy positions.

For Catholics, the Vatican (or "Rome") represents the pinnacle of hierarchical authority in the church and symbolizes the historical continuity of the popes as successors to the apostles and to Peter, the first bishop of Rome. Although many Catholics disagree with the stances taken by the Vatican on various doctrinal and political issues, they nonetheless value the Vatican and the papacy as important public symbols of Catholic unity and of the church's universal presence. In recent decades, the many trips abroad undertaken by Pope John Paul II (elected in 1979), and the expansion of international communications technology (including the establishment of a Vatican website), have made the Vatican a more immediate, visible, accessible presence in people's lives.

Historically, the institutional identity developed by the church can be seen as an expansion of the power of the Vatican. From 1075, when Pope Gregory VII formulated a set of principles asserting the divine source, supremacy, and universality of papal authority, down through the Council of Trent (1545–1563), and to the formal institutionalization of papal infallibility at Vatican I (1869–1870), the church sought to consolidate its interpretive authority over religious and moral questions. Vatican II (1962–1965) affirmed a more collegial understanding of decision-making and of the exercise of authority in the church, giving greater recognition to the voices and experiences of bishops, priests, and laypeople. Nonetheless, the papacy of John Paul II has attempted to reassert the power of the Vatican over the daily lives of Catholics. The Vatican's strategy is mulifaceted. On the one hand, it has curtailed the autonomy of national conferences of Catholic bishops to issue pastoral letters discussing moral issues (e.g., homosexuality) or political questions, and reminded theologians of their subordination to church officials. It has also reaffirmed the sinfulness of nonmarital sexual relations, artificial contraception, and abortion, and has stressed the obligation of Catholics to accept papal decisions pertaining to the church (e.g., the ban on women's ordination).

At the same time as the Vatican has become more assertive in defining the boundaries of Catholic identity (but not necessarily influencing Catholic behavior), it has also engaged in actions that have focused renewed attention on the church's geopolitical power. The Vatican has used church resources and the personal charisma and global popularity of Pope John Paul II to advance pro-democratic political movements, most notably in Poland and more recently in Cuba. Because of its unique status as a "universal" church, the Vatican is able to articulate a moral voice that transcends the national or sectoral interests of any one country. Therefore, its vision of the common good, when applied to specific issues, frequently puts it at odds with national governments that otherwise would see it as an ally. Relations between the American government and the Vatican are a case in point. While the Vatican pushes for the expansion of democracy, it simultaneously challenges military and economic policies that demean the dignity of individuals and societies. Thus, for example, contrary to American foreign policy, the Vatican opposes economic sanctions against Cuba and Iraq, notwithstanding its opposition to the political repression in those countries. Equally contentious are the Vatican's active participation in debates over global population policy and its opposition to legislation initiatives it regards as encouraging abortion.

The moral ideology that underpins both the Vatican's political engagement and its articulation of Catholic identity can perhaps be understood best from the "culture of life" thesis explicated by John Paul II (1995). In essence, the church subscribes to a universal "ethic of care" that values the sanctity of all life (from conception to death) and thus rejects any form of social, economic, or cultural discrimination. This ethic underpins the Vatican's opposition to abortion, euthanasia, and the death penalty, and its advocacy of social welfare, health care, and economic policies that seek to limit the negative effects of socioeconomic inequality on people's lives. It is the multiplicity of strands within the church's "culture of life" ideology that allows conservative and liberal Catholics alike to remain loyal to Rome while disagreeing with different aspects of its ethical stance. Whereas many liberal American Catholics reject the Vatican's position on sexuality or abortion and applaud its stance on social justice, conservative Catholics may reject the Vatican's opposition to the death penalty while favoring its stance on sexuality.

Many Catholics see a tension between the Vatican's push for the recognition of human rights throughout the world and its affirmation of church policies that discriminate against specific groups (e.g., the ban on women priests). With the dawning of a new millennium, however, there are grounds for new faith in the church's commitment to continue the project of institutional renewal set in place at Vatican II. In anticipation of the twenty-first century, the Vatican has undertaken a program of institutional "examination of conscience." So far this has resulted in the pope's apologizing for anti-Semitism committed by Catholics, denouncing the church's condemnation of Galileo, and investigating abuses committed by church inquisitions. There is thus hope that the Vatican may also revise some of the doctrines that prevent it from being the inclusive, pluralistic church that is necessary if Catholics are to maintain the vibrancy of their communal tradition in the new global society.

See alsoPapacy; Roman Catholicism; Rome.