POPES and their officials have long benefited from the Vatican’s unique
dual status in international law. As the Vatican City State, it can
shelter prelates wanted for questioning elsewhere and play host to
offshore financial institutions such as the Vatican Bank. But when world
leaders visit the pope in Rome it is to meet the absolute ruler of a
global entity, the Holy See. As the Holy See, the Vatican engages in
diplomacy, holds observer status at the UN and signs most treaties.
The Holy See is sometimes called a sovereign entity without territory, although its sovereign, the pope, is also the ruler of the Vatican City State. It is a legal expression of the Catholic church’s leadership, yet American lawyers for the church have successfully argued that the Vatican is not responsible for Catholic clerics’ wrongdoing.
http://www.economist.com/news/international/21602248-bid-hold-catholic-leadership-responsible-paedophile-priests-looming-shadows
The Holy See is sometimes called a sovereign entity without territory, although its sovereign, the pope, is also the ruler of the Vatican City State. It is a legal expression of the Catholic church’s leadership, yet American lawyers for the church have successfully argued that the Vatican is not responsible for Catholic clerics’ wrongdoing.
http://www.economist.com/news/international/21602248-bid-hold-catholic-leadership-responsible-paedophile-priests-looming-shadows
