The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office speaks of Vatican City as the " capital " of the Holy See, although it compares the legal personality of the Holy See to that of the Crown in Christian monarchies and declares that the Holy See and the state of Vatican City are two international identities.

Although the Holy See, as distinct from the Vatican City State, does not fulfil the long-established criteria in international law of statehood — having a permanent population, a defined territory, a stable government and the capacity to enter into relations with other states — its possession of full legal personality in international law is shown by the fact that it maintains diplomatic relations with 179 states, that it is a member-state in various intergovernmental international organizations, and that it is: " respected by the international community of sovereign States and treated as a subject of international law having the capacity to engage in diplomatic relations and to enter into binding agreements with one, several, or many states under international law that are largely geared to establish and preserving peace in the world.

On November 17, 2011 The Vatican announced that it would take legal action against Benetton after the company used a photo purportedly showing Pope Benedict XVI kissing Ahmed Mohamed el Tayeb, the imam of the Al Azhar mosque in Egypt.

It is uncertain whether the Council of Ministers will grant them legal tender status elsewhere outside national boundaries, as San Marino, Monaco, and the Vatican City also issue these kind of coins.

agreement between the Vatican and the Georgian government over envisaging guarantees of religious freedom and legal rights for Catholics in Georgia.

The Vatican Bank denied having legal responsibility for the Banco Ambrosiano's downfall but did acknowledge " moral involvement ", and paid US $ 241 million (£ 169 million ) to creditors.

*: The Vatican City State is not part of the EU, but like San Marino, there is an agreement to mint its own coins ( limited ) which are legal tender in the Eurozone.

Italian lira notes and coins were legal tender in the Vatican City State.

Specific Vatican coins were minted in Rome, and were legal tender also in Italy and San Marino.

Italian lira notes and coins were legal tender in San Marino, but specific San Marinese coins were minted in Rome, and were legal tender in Italy, as well as the Vatican City.

The Pope is sovereign of the Order, and it enjoys the protection of the Holy See and has its legal seat at Vatican City.

The only European states which are not members of the Council of Europe and thus could in principle be admitted are Belarus, Kazakhstan and the Vatican as well as Kosovo pending clarification of its international legal status.

The practice was later resumed, though in a more limited manner, following the resolution of the so-called " Roman Question " ( i. e., the legal relationship between the Vatican and the Italian government ).

It hears appeals of all other diocesan or archdiocesan court cases that have exhausted other appeals having to do with actual legal disputes ( only procedural matters are on trial here ), arguments between Vatican agencies, matters given to it by the Pope, or appeals for reversal of a decision from the other two courts ( the Roman Rota, which deals mainly with nullity of marriages, or the Apostolic Penitentiary, which deals mainly with appeals of complex matters involving the forgiveness of sins ).

The Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People of June, 2002, approved by the Vatican, requires that credible allegations of sexual abuse of children be reported to legal authorities.

* 1962: Start of the Second Vatican Council, which proclaimed the universal call to holiness and initiates the legal framework called the personal prelature.

In current usage, the word monarchy generally refers to a traditional system of hereditary rule, as elective monarchies are rare in the modern period ( though they do still exist in Vatican City, Andorra and Malaysia ).

" Such views of the Second Vatican Council were condemned by the Church's hierarchy, and the works of theologians who were active in the Council or who closely adhered to the Council's aspect of reform ( such as Hans Küng ) have often been criticized by the Church for espousing a belief system that is radical and misguided.

Under their patronato system, however, Royal authorities, not the Vatican, controlled as in Europe all clerical appointments in the new colonies.

" L ' Ere Nouvelle wrote " The contradiction of a system preaching universalism making an agreement with a highly nationalistic state has been repeated throughout Vatican history.

The Second Vatican Council described Thomas's system as the " Perennial Philosophy ".

After the Reformation, the new denominations generally adopted systems of ecclesiastical polity that did not entail benefices and the Second Vatican Council called " for the abandonment or reform of the system of benefices ".

Following the Second Vatican Council, the Church drastically reformed and, in most cases, completely abolished the system of benefices.

The poem is known to us only through one Vatican manuscript, and long escaped the notice of historians.

Whilst members of the Independent Catholic movement take seriously the issue of valid orders, it is highly significant that the relevant Vatican Congregations tend not to respond to petitions from Independent Catholic bishops and clergy who seek to be received into communion with the Holy See, hoping to continue in some sacramental role.

< cite id = disputedinjunction > The Vatican archives contain an unsigned copy of a more strongly worded formal injunction purporting to have been served on Galileo shortly after Bellarmine's admonition, ordering him " not to hold, teach, or defend " the condemned doctrine " in any way whatever, either orally or in writing ", and threatening him with imprisonment if he refused to obey .</ cite > However, whether this injunction was ever properly served on Galileo is a subject of much scholarly disagreement.

Another example is its self-description as the " Holy, Catholic, Apostolic and Roman Church " in the 24 April 1870 Dogmatic Constitution on the Catholic Faith of the First Vatican Council.

Some countries have more particular naming for their missions and staff: a Vatican mission is headed by a nuncio ( Latin " envoy ") and consequently known as an apostolic nunciature.

Of Europe's approximately 50 states, Russia is by far the largest by both area and population, taking up 40 % of the continent ( although the country has territory in both Europe and Asia ), while the Vatican City is the smallest.

There is no mention of Euclid in the earliest remaining copies of the Elements, and most of the copies say they are " from the edition of Theon " or the " lectures of Theon ", while the text considered to be primary, held by the Vatican, mentions no author.

The music itself is rather basic — church music at the time placed a large gap between written and performance practice — embellishments were largely placed in the hands of the performers ' tastes, although the Vatican score itself was altered largely by performers and visitors over the years.

Often incorrectly referred to as " the Vatican ", the Holy See is not the same entity as the Vatican City State, which came into existence only in 1929 ; the Holy See, the episcopal see of Rome, dates back to early Christian times.

The British Ambassador to the Holy See uses more precise language, saying that the Holy See " is not the same as the Vatican City State.

… ( It ) is the universal government of the Catholic Church and operates from the Vatican City State.

The Secretariat of State is the only body of the Curia that is situated within Vatican City.

The Pope, head of state of Vatican City, is chosen by previously appointed cardinals under 80 years of age from among themselves in a papal conclave.

The Second Vatican Council did not speak of any of these concrete methods … This is a different standpoint than that taken under Pius XI some thirty years which was also maintained by his successor ... we can sense here a clear development in the Church, a development, which is also going on outside the Church.

It is gained by completing jobs in the Città del Vaticano ( Vatican City ) level of the game.

Italian ( or lingua italiana ) is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia.

It is also the official language of San Marino, as well as the primary language of Vatican City.

Italian is also used in administration and official documents in Vatican City.