... 1871, in the wake of the overthrow of the Papal States the year before, la Legge delle Guarantigie, a statute that described the relationship between the Italian State and the Holy See, was passed by the Parliament at Rome. By this Law of Guarantees the pope was declared sacred and inviolable, and certain honors, such as the Swiss Guard and an annual endowment of more than $600,000, were accorded him. But the Vatican refused to accept the endowment or the implication that it was beholden to Italy rather than itself sovereign. Popes would not leave the Vatican boundaries until 1929, when the Lateran Treaty settled the dispute by naming the Holy See an independent state.
Showing posts with label Holy See. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Holy See. Show all posts
On May 13
On this day in ...
... 1871, in the wake of the overthrow of the Papal States the year before, la Legge delle Guarantigie, a statute that described the relationship between the Italian State and the Holy See, was passed by the Parliament at Rome. By this Law of Guarantees the pope was declared sacred and inviolable, and certain honors, such as the Swiss Guard and an annual endowment of more than $600,000, were accorded him. But the Vatican refused to accept the endowment or the implication that it was beholden to Italy rather than itself sovereign. Popes would not leave the Vatican boundaries until 1929, when the Lateran Treaty settled the dispute by naming the Holy See an independent state.
... 1871, in the wake of the overthrow of the Papal States the year before, la Legge delle Guarantigie, a statute that described the relationship between the Italian State and the Holy See, was passed by the Parliament at Rome. By this Law of Guarantees the pope was declared sacred and inviolable, and certain honors, such as the Swiss Guard and an annual endowment of more than $600,000, were accorded him. But the Vatican refused to accept the endowment or the implication that it was beholden to Italy rather than itself sovereign. Popes would not leave the Vatican boundaries until 1929, when the Lateran Treaty settled the dispute by naming the Holy See an independent state.'Nuff said
(Taking context-optional note of thought-provoking quotes)
-- UCLA Law's Kal Raustiala and Lara Stemple, in a Los Angeles Times op-ed that assesses the Holy See (flag at left; prior posts) against standard measures of state sovereignty and finds it sorely lacking -- notwithstanding a Vatican official's claim that Pope Benedict XVI enjoys head-of-state immunity.
That the Holy See is often treated as a state is deeply troubling, for several reasons. For one thing, the Catholic Church isn't truly a sovereign nation; to allow it to play one on the international stage perverts the meaning of statehood.
-- UCLA Law's Kal Raustiala and Lara Stemple, in a Los Angeles Times op-ed that assesses the Holy See (flag at left; prior posts) against standard measures of state sovereignty and finds it sorely lacking -- notwithstanding a Vatican official's claim that Pope Benedict XVI enjoys head-of-state immunity.
On October 5
On this day in ...... 1614 (395 years ago today), a fleet of Japanese ships carrying Ambassador Hasekura Tsunenaga arrived in Spain, at the port of Sanlúcar de Barrameda. Hasekura's mission, known as the Keichō Embassy, had begun the prior year and already included Spanish ports of call in North America. Hasekura was the "first Japanese political envoy to visit the American continent." He tried to negotiate trade agreements in Madrid, where he converted to Roman Catholicism, and eventually traveled to the Vatican to meet with the Pope (above) (credit). Having failed to secure trade pacts, Hasekura returned to Japan and died from illness. No Japanese embassy would return to Europe for 200 years.
On January 10
On this day in ...... 1984 (25 years ago today), full diplomatic relations were re-established between the United States and the Holy See. Relations between America and the Vatican had broken in 1867. Representing the United States at the Vatican since last February (but expected to depart with the Bush Administration) is Ambassador Mary Ann Glendon (above at far right, with Pope Benedict XVI), whose work as a Harvard law professor included authorship of A World Made New: Eleanor Roosevelt and the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights (2001).... 1991, Javier Pérez de Cuéllar (left), who'd been U.N. Secretary-General since 1982, prepared to head to Baghdad, the BBC reported, "in a final diplomatic effort to avoid war against Iraq," by "rais[ing] the possibility of sending a UN peacekeeping force to Kuwait to oversee the peaceful withdrawal of Iraqi troops. " His efforts would fail, and military intervention, dubbed "Operation Desert Storm," would begin on January 16.
On December 20
On this day in ...... 1963 (45 years ago today), the Berlin Wall was opened for the 1st time in more than 2 years. Thousands of West Berliners streamed eastward after East German guards opened the Wall (right) (photo credit) at 5 checkpoints, a move aimed at allowing 1-day holiday visits among relatives in the divided city.
... 1989, U.S. troops invaded Panama City, Panama, in what was described as a "military operation ... designed to topple the Government of Gen. Manuel Antonio Noriega" (left), who'd been accused of major drug trafficking. Noriega would be caught within a week at the Vatican embassy where he'd sought sanctuary. As we've posted, he eventually was convicted in federal court, served his federal sentence. He remains in a U.S. prison pending litigation of requests for his extradition.Pope not gay over French proposal
Europe's witness these days to a fascinating diplomatic dance:Pope Benedict XVI has rejected 2 consecutive nominees to be France's Ambassador to the Holy See. It's a most delicate matter -- the Paris daily Le Figaro will say only that the 2d nominee, long-time French diplomat Jean-Loup Kuhn-Delforge, was rebuffed "by reason of his 'personal profile.'"
What gives?
France's having trouble finding a suitable candidate who is neither divorced nor gay.
The former adjective describes the 1st nominee, a writer who is married to his 3d wife. The latter describes Kuhn-Delforge, who lives openly with his male partner.
In the late '80s a divorcé represented Spain at the Vatican, but apparently neither Pope John Paul II nor Spain itself knew the ambassador's status. In any event one suspects this Pope wouldn't listen to claims of precedent.
Listened to or not, France does seem to be signaling its view of 21st Century values -- a most interesting message from a country where the President just married for the 3d time; civil unions of same- as well as opposite-sex couples have been recognized for years; and more than 80 percent of the population "identify themselves as Catholic." On June 7, ...
... 1929, the Holy See attained sovereign status when the Italian Foreign Minister and an envoy of Pope Pius XI, meeting in Rome, exchanged copies of the Lateran Treaty that had been ratified earlier in the year.
... 1892 (115 years ago today), at Press Street railway station in New Orleans, an American man of African
and European ancestry, born Homère Patris Plessy fewer than 3 months after the Emancipation Proclamation, boarded the "White Only" car of a train headed for Covington, Louisiana. A detective dragged him out and arrested him for violating the Separate Car Act of 1890, which authorized imprisonment for defying the requirement that railroads in Louisiana segregate passengers by race. Plessy (pictured at left) and the Citizens Committee that had recruited him pressed his civil disobedience challenge all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. In its 1896 judgment in Plessy v. Ferguson, the Court sustained the maintenance of "separate but equal" facilities by a vote of 7 to 1. The Court reversed itself in 1954, to join the view of Justice John Marshall Harlan, the lone dissenter in Plessy, that such de jure segregation violates the Constitution.
... 1892 (115 years ago today), at Press Street railway station in New Orleans, an American man of African
and European ancestry, born Homère Patris Plessy fewer than 3 months after the Emancipation Proclamation, boarded the "White Only" car of a train headed for Covington, Louisiana. A detective dragged him out and arrested him for violating the Separate Car Act of 1890, which authorized imprisonment for defying the requirement that railroads in Louisiana segregate passengers by race. Plessy (pictured at left) and the Citizens Committee that had recruited him pressed his civil disobedience challenge all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. In its 1896 judgment in Plessy v. Ferguson, the Court sustained the maintenance of "separate but equal" facilities by a vote of 7 to 1. The Court reversed itself in 1954, to join the view of Justice John Marshall Harlan, the lone dissenter in Plessy, that such de jure segregation violates the Constitution.
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