Italy – Holy See relations

Italy	Holy See

Holy See–Italy relations are the special relations between theHoly See, which is sovereign over theVatican City, and theItalian Republic.

Relations with the Kingdom of Italy were difficult during the papacies ofPius IX andLeo XIII, who had to endure the status ofprisoner of the Vatican after thecapture of Rome,^[1] refusing to recognize theLaw of Guarantees.^[2] Leo XIII forbade Christians from participating in elections and accused the Italian state of being controlled byfreemasons.^{[citation needed]}

It was only underPius XI that theLateran Treaty was signed, establishing theState of Vatican City, allowing for greater papal autonomy.^[3]

The newsecular Italian Republic established in 1946 recognized freedom of religion. However, underPius XII andPaul VI, theChristian Democrats thrived and had great influence on Italian politics, in order to stop theItalian Communist Party from gaining power.^[4]

Due to the size of theVatican City State, embassies accredited to the Holy See are based in Italy. Embassy officials of other countries also stay in Italy. Treaties signed betweenItaly and the Vatican City State permit such embassages. The Embassy of Italy to the Holy See is unique amongst foreign embassages in that it is the only embassy based on its home territory.

The Holy See maintains formal diplomatic relations with 176 sovereign states, theEuropean Union, and theOrder of Malta; 69 of the diplomatic missions accredited to the Holy See are situated inRome, though those countries then have two embassies in the same city, since, by agreement between the Holy See and Italy, the same person cannot be accredited simultaneously to both.

This is shown clearly by the fact that Italy recognizes thePeople's Republic of China (PRC) and the PRC's Embassy to Italy is in Rome. However, the Vatican City State recognizes theRepublic of China (ROC, which controls Taiwan) and as such, theROC Embassy to the Holy See is also in Rome.

• Apostolic Nunciature to Italy
• Lateran Treaty
• List of diplomatic missions in Italy
• List of diplomatic missions of Italy
• Index of Vatican City-related articles
• Holy See–European Union relations
• Public funding of the Catholic Church in Italy

• Holy See–Italy relations
• Bilateral relations of the Holy See
• Bilateral relations of Italy

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• Articles with unsourced statements from November 2021