FOREIGN
RELATIONS
The Holy See conducts an active diplomacy. As noted, it maintains formal diplomatic relations with 175 nations; 78 of these maintain permanent resident diplomatic missions accredited to the Holy See in Rome. The rest have missions located outside Italy with dual accreditation. The Holy See maintains 106 permanent diplomatic missions to nation-states. Furthermore, the Holy See has two separate permanent diplomatic missions: one to the European Union, another to the Russian Federation.
The Holy
See is especially active in international organizations. The Holy
See has diplomatic relations with the European Union (EU) in Brussels,
it is a permanent observer of the United Nations Organization
(UN), Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington, African
Union (AU), World Tourist Organization (WToO), World Trade Organization
(WTO), World Health Organization (WHO), World Food Program (WFP),
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), United
Nations International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP), United Nations
Center for Human Settlements (UNCHS), Latin Union (LU), International
Organization for Migration (IOM), International Labor Organization
(ILO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD),
and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
The Holy
See is also an observer on an informal basis of the World Meteorological
Organization in Geneva (WMO), United Nations Committee of Peaceful
Use of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS), International Strategy for Disaster
Reduction (ISDR), International Maritime Organization (IMO), African
Asian Legal Consultative Committee (AALCC) and the International
Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
The Holy
See is a member of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical
Weapons (OPCW), Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE), International Telecommunication Union (ITU), International
Telecommunication Satellite Organization (ITSO), World Intellectual
Property Organization (WIPO), Universal Postal Union (UPU), International
Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT), United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR, United Nations
Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), International Grains
Council (IGC), International Committee for Military Medicine (ICMM),
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and the Preparatory
Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization
(CTBTO).
In 1971,
the Holy See announced the decision to adhere to the nuclear Non-Proliferation
Treaty in order to "give its moral support to the principles
that form the base of the treaty itself." The Holy See is
also a participating state in the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe: it is a guest of honor to the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
Furthermore,
the Holy See has a delegate to the Arab League in Cairo (AL).
U.S.-HOLY
SEE RELATIONS
The
United States maintained consular relations with the Papal States
from 1797 to 1870 and diplomatic relations with the Pope, in his
capacity as head of the Papal States, from 1848 to 1868, though
not at the ambassadorial level. These relations lapsed with the
loss of all papal territories in 1870.
From 1870 to 1984, the United States did not have diplomatic
relations with the Holy See. Several presidents, however, designated
personal envoys to visit the Holy See periodically for discussions
of international humanitarian and political issues. Myron C.
Taylor was the first of these representatives, serving from
1939 to 1950. Presidents Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Reagan also
appointed personal envoys to the Pope.
The United States and the Holy See announced the establishment
of diplomatic relations on January 10, 1984. On March 7, 1984,
the Senate confirmed William A. Wilson as the first U.S. ambassador
to the Holy See. Ambassador Wilson had been President Reagan's
personal envoy to the Pope since 1981. The Holy See named Archbishop
Pio Laghi as Apostolic Nuncio (equivalent to ambassador) of
the Holy See to the U.S.
The U.S.-Holy See relationship is best characterized as an active global partnership for human dignity. Establishment of diplomatic relations has bolstered the frequent contact and consultation between the United States and the Holy See on many important international issues of mutual interest. The commitment to human dignity at the core of both the U.S. and Holy See approach to the world gives rise to a common agenda for action to promote religious freedom, justice, religious and ethnic tolerance, liberty, respect for women and children and for the rule of law.
Holy See priorities for 2008 include freedom of religion, inter-religious dialogue (particularly with the Muslim world), ecumenism, protection for the traditional family, and peace (particularly for the Middle East). Pope Benedict XVI has also publicly expressed concern over the issue of climate change, describing the protection of the environment as a moral responsibility to safeguard God's creation.
Principal U.S. Embassy Official
Ambassador--Mary Ann Glendon
The U.S. Embassy to the Holy See is located in Rome in the Villa Domiziana, Via delle Terme Deciane 26, 00153 Rome, Italy, Tel: (396) 4674-3428.
