TheSecretariat of State (Latin:Secretaria Status;Italian:Segreteria di Stato) is the oldestdicastery in theRoman Curia, the central papal governing bureaucracy of theCatholic Church. It is headed by theCardinal Secretary of State and performs all the political and diplomatic functions of theHoly See. The Secretariat is divided into three sections: the Section for General Affairs, theSection for Relations with States, and, since 2017, the Section for Diplomatic Staff.[1]
The origins of the Secretariat of State go back to the fifteenth century.[2]: 17 Theapostolic constitutionNon Debet Reprehensibile of 31 December 1487 established theSecretaria Apostolica comprising twenty-four apostolic secretaries, one of whom bore the titleSecretarius Domesticus and held a position of pre-eminence. One can also trace to thisSecretaria Apostolica the Chancery of Briefs, the Secretariat of Briefs to Princes and the Secretariat of Latin Letters.
Pope Leo X established another position, theSecretarius Intimus, to assist the Cardinal who had control of the affairs of State and to attend to correspondence in languages other than Latin, chiefly with the Apostolic Nuncios (who at that time were evolving into permanent diplomatic representatives). From these beginnings, the Secretariat of State developed, especially at the time of theCouncil of Trent.
For a long time, theSecretarius Intimus, also calledSecretarius Papae orSecretarius Maior, was almost always aprelate, often endowed withepiscopal rank. It was only at the beginning of the pontificate ofInnocent X that someone already a Cardinal and not a member of the Pope's family was called to this high office.Pope Innocent XII definitively abolished the office of Cardinal Nephew, and the powers of that office were assigned to the Cardinal Secretary of State alone.
On 19 July 1814,Pope Pius VII established the Sacred Congregation for the Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs, expanding theCongregatio super negotiis ecclesiasticis Regni Galliarum established by Pius VI in 1793. With the apostolic constitutionSapienti Consilio of 29 June 1908,Saint Pius X divided the Sacred Congregation for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs in the form fixed by theCodex Iuris Canonici of 1917 (Can. 263) and he specified the duties of each of the three sections: the first was concerned essentially with extraordinary affairs, while the second attended to the ordinary affairs, and the third, until then an independent body (theChancery of Apostolic Briefs), had the duty of preparing and dispatching pontifical Briefs.
With the apostolic constitutionRegimini Ecclesiae universae[3] of 15 August 1967,Pope Paul VI reformed theRoman Curia, implementing the desire expressed by the bishops in theSecond Vatican Council. This gave a new face to the Secretariat of State, suppressing theChancery of Apostolic Briefs, formerly the third section, and transforming the former first section, the Sacred Congregation for the Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs, into a body distinct from the Secretariat of State, though closely related to it, which was to be known as the Council for the Public Affairs of the Church.
In December 2020, Pope Francis enacted legislation stripping the Secretariat of State of its financial assets and real estate holdings following its bungled management of hundreds of millions of euros in donations.[4] Controversial investments which were made by the Vatican Secretariat of State department also became subject to a corruption investigation.[4]
On 28 June 1988,John Paul II promulgated the apostolic constitutionPastor bonus,[5] which introduced a reform of theRoman Curia and divided the Secretariat of State into two sections: the Section for General Affairs and the Section for Relations with States, which incorporated the Council for the Public Affairs of the Church.Pope Francis added a third unit, the Section for Diplomatic Staff, in November 2017.[6]
The head of the Secretariat of State is the Secretary of State, who is a cardinal.[2]: 17 TheCardinal Secretary of State is primarily responsible for the diplomatic and political activity of the Holy See, in some circumstances representing the Pope himself. The Secretary of State is typically viewed as the second most powerful person in the Vatican.[2]: 17
The Section for General Affairs handles the normal operations of the Church including organizing the activities of theRoman Curia, making appointments to curial offices, publishing official communications, papal documents, handling the concerns ofembassies to the Holy See, and keeping the papal seal andFisherman's Ring. Abroad, the Section for General Affairs is responsible for organizing the activities ofnuncios around the world in their activities concerning the local church.[7]
The Section for General Affairs is headed by anarchbishop known as the Substitute for General Affairs, or more formally, Substitute for General Affairs to the Secretary of State. The position of Substitute (substituto) has also been regarded as being equivalent to the papalchief of staff, withCrux even describing the Substitute as being "the only figure in the Vatican system with the right to see the pope on a routine basis without an appointment."[8][9][10] The current Substitute for General Affairs to the Secretary of State is ArchbishopEdgar Peña Parra. There have been 10 substitutes since 1953:
The deputy to the Substitute for General Affairs, effectively deputy chief of staff, is called the Assessor for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State. The current Assessor for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State isMonsignorAnthony Onyemuche Ekpo.
The Congregation for the Ecclesiastical Affairs of the Kingdom of France was set up byPope Pius VI with the ConstitutionSollicitudo omnium ecclesiarum in 1793 to deal with the problems created for the Church by theFrench Revolution. In 1814,Pope Pius VII gave this office responsibility for negotiations with all governments, renaming it the Extraordinary Congregation for the Ecclesiastical Affairs of the Catholic World (Latin:Congregatio Extraordinaria Praeposita Negotiis Ecclesiasticis Orbis Catholici). Some years later,Pope Leo XII changed its name to the Sacred Congregation for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs (Latin:Sacra Congregatio pro Negotiis Ecclesiasticis Extraordinariis), which remained its title until 1967 whenPope Paul VI separated this body from the Secretariat of State, calling it the Council for the Public Affairs of the Church. This council was later replaced by the present Section for Relations with States.
The Section is responsible for the Holy See's interactions with civil governments. According to the relevant articles of the apostolic constitutionPastor bonus,[11] the responsibilities of the Secretary for Relations with States are:
The Section is headed by anArchbishop, the Secretary for Relations with States, who reports to the Secretary of State. His staff includes a Prelate, the Under-Secretary for Relations with States, and is assisted by Cardinals and Bishops. The Secretary for Relations with States is often called theforeign minister of the Holy See, and the Under-Secretary is often called the deputy foreign minister.
The current Secretary for Relations with States is ArchbishopPaul Gallagher. The current Undersecretary for Relations with States is Monsignor Mirosław Stanisław Wachowski.[12] The current Delegate for Pontifical Representations is ArchbishopJan Romeo Pawłowski and the current Head of Protocol is Monsignor Javier Domingo Fernández González.
On 21 November 2017, the Secretariat announced that Pope Francis had created the Section for Diplomatic Staff, expanding the responsibilities of the Delegate for Pontifical Representations.[13] It has been operating since 9 November 2017.[14] Since its creation it has been headed by ArchbishopJan Romeo Pawłowski.[6] He was succeeded in the role by ArchbishopLuciano Russo in 2022.[15]
In 2022, this section was included in the organizational structure of the Roman Curia detailed in the apostolic constitutionPraedicate evangelium.[16]
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