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The Holy See (Latin: Sancta Sedes, Italian: Santa Sede) refers to the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome. The primacy of Rome makes its bishop the worldwide leader of the church, commonly known as the Pope. Since Rome is the preeminent episcopal see of the church, it contains the central government of the church, including various agencies essential to administration. As such, diplomatically, the Holy See acts and speaks for the whole Catholic Church. It is also recognized by other subjects of international law as a sovereign entity, headed by the Pope, with which diplomatic relations can be maintained."^[1][2]

Although it is often 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. Ambassadors are officially accredited not to the Vatican City State but to "the Holy See", and papal representatives to states and international organizations are recognized as representing the Holy See, not the Vatican City State.

Though all episcopal sees may be considered "holy", the expression "the Holy See" (without further specification) is normally used in international relations (and in the canon law of the Roman Catholic Church)^[3] to refer to the See of Rome viewed as the central government of the Roman Catholic Church.

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. It also distinguishes between the employees of the Holy See (2,750 working in the Roman Curia with another 333 working in the Holy See's diplomatic missions abroad) and the 1,909 employees of the state.^[4] 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."^[5] This agrees exactly with the expression used by the website of the United States Department of State, in giving information on both the Holy See and the Vatican City State: it too says that the Holy See "operates from the Vatican City State".^[6]

Organisation[link]

Coat of arms of the Holy See

The Pope governs the Catholic Church through the Roman Curia. The Roman Curia consists of a complex of offices that administer church affairs at the highest level, including the Secretariat of State, nine Congregations, three Tribunals, eleven Pontifical Councils, and seven Pontifical Commissions. The Secretariat of State, under the Cardinal Secretary of State, directs and coordinates the Curia. The incumbent, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, is the See's equivalent of a prime minister. Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, Secretary of the Section for Relations with States of the Secretariat of State, acts as the Holy See's minister of foreign affairs. Bertone and Mamberti were named in their respective roles by Pope Benedict XVI in September 2006.

Vatican City

The Secretariat of State is the only body of the Curia that is situated within Vatican City. The others are in buildings in different parts of Rome that have extraterritorial rights similar to those of embassies.

Among the most active of the major Curial institutions are the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which oversees the Catholic Church's doctrine; the Congregation for Bishops, which coordinates the appointment of bishops worldwide; the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, which oversees all missionary activities; and the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, which deals with international peace and social issues.

Three tribunals exercise judicial power. The Roman Rota handles normal judicial appeals, the most numerous being those that concern alleged nullity of marriage.^[7] The Apostolic Signatura is the supreme appellate and administrative court concerning decisions even of the Roman Rota and administrative decisions of ecclesiastical superiors (bishops and superiors of religious institutes), such as closing a parish or removing someone from office. It also oversees the work of other ecclesiastical tribunals at all levels.^[8] The Apostolic Penitentiary deals not with external judgments or decrees, but with matters of conscience, granting absolutions from censures, dispensations, commutations, validations, condonations, and other favours; it also grants indulgences.^[9]

The Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See coordinates the finances of the Holy See departments and supervises the administration of all offices, whatever be their degree of autonomy, that manage these finances. The most important of these is the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See.

The Prefecture of the Papal Household is responsible for the organization of the papal household, audiences, and ceremonies (apart from the strictly liturgical part).

The Holy See does not dissolve upon a Pope's death or resignation. It instead operates under a different set of laws sede vacante. During this interregnum, the heads of the dicasteries of the Roman Curia (such as the prefects of congregations) cease immediately to hold office, the only exceptions being the Major Penitentiary, who continues his important role regarding absolutions and dispensations, and the Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, who administers the temporalities (i.e., properties and finances) of the See of St. Peter during this period. The government of the See, and therefore of the Catholic Church, then falls to the College of Cardinals. Canon law prohibits the College and the Camerlengo from introducing any innovations or novelties in the government of the Church during this period.

In 2001, the Holy See had a revenue of 422.098 billion Italian lire (about 202 million USD at the time), and a net income of 17.720 billion Italian lire (about 8 million USD).^[10]

Status in international law[link]

The Holy See has been recognised, both in state practise and in the writing of modern legal scholars, as a subject of public international law, with rights and duties analogous to those of States. 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^[11]—its possession of full legal personality in international law is shown by the fact that it maintains diplomatic relations with 179^[12] 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."^[13]

Diplomacy[link]

Foreign relations with the Holy See.

  Diplomatic relations

  Other relations

  No relations

Since medieval times the episcopal see of Rome has been recognized as a sovereign entity. The Holy See (not the State of Vatican City) maintains formal diplomatic relations with 179 sovereign states,^[12] and also with the European Union, and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, as well as having relations of a special character with the Palestine Liberation Organization;^[14][15] 69 of the diplomatic missions accredited to the Holy See are situated in Rome. The Holy See maintains 180 permanent diplomatic missions abroad, of which 74 are non-residential, so that many of its 106 concrete missions are accredited to two or more countries or international organizations. The diplomatic activities of the Holy See are directed by the Secretariat of State (headed by the Cardinal Secretary of State), through the Section for Relations with States. There are 15 internationally recognized states with which the Holy See does not have relations.^[16] The Holy See is the only European subject of international law that has official diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (Taiwan).

The Holy See is a member of various International organizations and groups including the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), International Telecommunication Union, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The Holy See is also a permanent observer in various international organizations, including the United Nations General Assembly, the Council of Europe, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), the World Trade Organization (WTO), and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Military and police[link]

Though, like various European powers, earlier Popes recruited Swiss mercenaries as part of an army, the Pontifical Swiss Guard was founded by Pope Julius II on 22 January 1506 as the personal bodyguard of the Pope and continues to fulfil that function. It is listed in the Annuario Pontificio under "Holy See", not under "State of Vatican City". At the end of 2005, the Guard had 134 members. Recruitment is arranged by a special agreement between the Holy See and Switzerland. All recruits must be Catholic, unmarried males with Swiss citizenship who have completed their basic training with the Swiss Army with certificates of good conduct, be between the ages of 19 and 30, and be at least 175 cm (5 ft 9 in) in height. Members are armed with small arms and the traditional halberd (also called the Swiss voulge), and trained in bodyguarding tactics.

• • • See: Vatican City#Military and police for more on this subtopic

Relationship with the Vatican City and other territories[link]

The Holy See participates as an observer in AU, Arab League, Council of Europe, OAS, IOM, and in the UN and its agencies FAO, ILO, UNCTAD, UNEP, UNESCO, UN-HABITAT, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, WFP, WHO, WIPO. It participates as a guest in NAM, and as a full member in IAEA, OPCW, OSCE.

Although the Holy See is closely associated with the Vatican City, the independent territory over which the Holy See is sovereign, the two entities are separate and distinct. After the Italian takeover of the Papal States in 1870, the Holy See had no territorial sovereignty. In spite of some uncertainty among jurists as to whether it could continue to act as an independent personality in international matters, the Holy See continued in fact to exercise the right to send and receive diplomatic representatives, maintaining relations with states that included the major powers of Russia, Prussia and Austria-Hungary. Where, in accordance with the decision of the 1815 Congress of Vienna, the Nuncio was not only a member of the Diplomatic Corps but its Dean, this arrangement continued to be accepted by the other ambassadors. In the course of the 59 years during which the Holy See held no territorial sovereignty, the number of states that had diplomatic relations with it, which had been reduced to 16, actually increased to 29.^[17]

The State of the Vatican City was created by the Lateran Treaty in 1929 to "ensure the absolute and visible independence of the Holy See" and "to guarantee to it an indisputable sovereignty in international affairs" (quotations from the treaty). Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran, the Holy See's former Secretary for Relations with States, said that the Vatican City is a "minuscule support-state that guarantees the spiritual freedom of the Pope with the minimum territory".^[18]

The Holy See, not the Vatican City, maintains diplomatic relations with states.^[19] Foreign embassies are accredited to the Holy See, not to the Vatican City, and it is the Holy See that establishes treaties and concordats with other sovereign entities. When necessary, the Holy See will enter a treaty on behalf of the Vatican City.

Under the terms of the Lateran Treaty, the Holy See has extraterritorial authority over 23 sites in Rome and five Italian sites outside of Rome, including the Pontifical Palace at Castel Gandolfo. The same authority is extended under international law over the Apostolic Nunciature of the Holy See in a foreign country.

"Holy See" and "Apostolic See"[link]

Every episcopal see is considered holy. In Greek, the adjective "holy" or "sacred" (ἱερά) is constantly applied to all such sees as a matter of course. In the West, the adjective is not commonly added, but it does form part of an official title of two sees: as well as Rome, the Bishopric of Mainz (the former Archbishopric of Mainz), which was also of electoral and primatial rank, bears the title of "the Holy See of Mainz" (Latin: Sancta Sedes Moguntina).

The term "see" comes from the Latin word "sedes", meaning "seat", which refers to the Episcopal throne (cathedra). The term "Apostolic See" can refer to any see founded by one of the Apostles, but, when used with the definite article, it is used in the Catholic Church to refer specifically to the see of the Bishop of Rome, whom that Church sees as successor of Saint Peter, the Prince of the Apostles.^[20]

See also[link]

• Diocese of Rome
• Global organisation of the Catholic Church
• Holy Roman Church
• Patriarchate
• The Vatican Today News Portal

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• La Due, William J. The Chair of Saint Peter: A History of the Papacy. (ISBN 1-57075-249-4)
• Heribert Franz Koeck, Die völkerrechtliche Stellung des Heiligen Stuhls. Dargestellt an seinen Beziehungen zu Staaten und internationalen Organisationen, Berlin 1975
• Heribert Franz Koeck, Holy See, in: Encyclopedia of Public International Law, Bd. 2, Oxford etc. 1995

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Holy See

• The Holy See
• The Holy See News Portal (News.va)
• YouTube Vatican Channel
• Primacy of the Apostolic See
• CIA World Factbook on Holy See
• Between Venus and Mars, the Church of Rome Chooses Both—The Holy See’s geopolitics analyzed in the light of the dominant doctrines
• The Holy See in the course of time, from an Orthodox perspective

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Holiness, or sanctity, is in general the state of being holy (perceived by religious individuals as associated with the divine) or sacred (considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspiring awe or reverence among believers in a given set of spiritual ideas). In other contexts, objects are often considered 'holy' or 'sacred' if used for spiritual purposes, such as the worship or service of gods. These terms can also be used in a non-spiritual or semi-spiritual context ("sacred truths" in a constitution). It is often ascribed to people ("a holy man" of religious occupation, "holy prophet" who is venerated by his followers), objects ("sacred artifact" that is venerated and blessed ), times ("holy days" of spiritual introspection, such as during winter holidays), or places ("sacred ground", "holy place").

Etymology[link]

The word "sacred" descends from the Latin sacrum, which referred to the gods or anything in their power, and to sacerdos, priest; sanctum, set apart. It was generally conceived spatially, as referring to the area around a temple.

The English word "holy" dates back to at least the 11th Century with the Old English word hālig, an adjective derived from hāl meaning "whole" and used to mean "uninjured, sound, healthy, entire, complete". The Scottish hale ("health, happiness and wholeness") is the most complete modern form of this Old English root. The modern word "health" is also derived from the Old English hal. As "wholeness", holiness may be taken to indicate a state of religious completeness or perfection. The word "holy" in its modern form appears in Wyclif's Bible of 1382.

In non-specialist contexts, the term "holy" is used in a more general way, to refer to someone or something that is associated with a divine power, such as water used for baptism.

Hierology[link]

For the study of hieroglyphics, see hieroglyphology. For the study of sacred writings, see hierographology.

Hierology (Greek ιερος, hieros, "sacred" or "holy", + λογος, logos, "word", "account", or "reason") refers to the study of the sacred and sacredness. It is generally pursued by those who find real truth in many faiths and especially refers to philosophical speculations about religion that involve the traditions of multiple cultures or belief systems. It differs from theology in that a god or gods are not necessarily a focus and in that it may include sources with no origin in Western philosophy or religion.

Buddhism[link]

In Theravada Buddhism one finds the designation of 'noble person' or ariyapuggala (Pali). The Buddha described four grades of such person depending on their level of purity. This purity is measured by which of the ten fetters (samyojana) and klesha have been purified and integrated from the mindstream. These persons are called (in order of increasing sanctity) Sotapanna, Sakadagami, Anagami and Arahant. The latter term designates an enlightened human being and is sometimes rendered into English as the Holy One.

Christianity[link]

The temple of God is holy, which temple ye are, 1 Cor.3:17

Catholicism[link]

Catholicism has inherited much of the Jewish vision of the world in terms of holiness, with certain behaviour appropriate to certain places and times. The calendar gives shape to Catholic practice, which tends to focus on the Eucharist, in which the Real Presence of Christ is manifested. Holy days, celebrating events of the life of Christ and the lives of Catholic saints officially recognized as holy, are celebrated throughout the year. Many features of the Jewish temple (although now seen as having Christian significance) are imitated in churches, such as the altar, bread, lamp, incense, font, etc., to emphasise the extreme holiness of the Eucharistic elements, which are reserved in a tabernacle. In extension of this focus on the Sacrament as holy, many objects in Catholicism are also considered holy. They are called sacramentals and are usually blessed by a priest. Such items include rosaries, crucifixes, medals, and statues and icons of Jesus, angels and saints (Virgin Mary). While Catholics believe that holy places and objects (i.e., objects dedicated to God for sacred use) should be respected and not put to profane use, the Catholic Church condemns worshiping the object itself, as any worship given to something other than God is considered idolatry.

People in a state of sanctifying grace are also considered holy in Catholicism. A central notion of Catholicism as articulated in contemporary theology is the "[personal] call to holiness," considered as a vocation shared by every Christian believer. Profound personal holiness has traditionally also been seen as a focus for the kind of contagious holiness primarily associated with the Sacrament. So the communion of saints in Catholicism is not only the acclamation of their piety or morality, but also reverence for the tangible holiness that flows from their proximity to the divine. Hence the places where saints lived, died, performed miracles, or received visions frequently become sites of pilgrimage, and notable objects surviving a saint (including the body or parts of it) are considered relics. The holiness of such places or objects, resulting from contact with a deeply holy person, is often connected with the miraculous long after the death of the saint.

Sanctus (Latin for "holy") is the name of an important hymn of Christian liturgy. The Trisagion ('Thrice Holy') is a standard hymn of the Divine Liturgy of the Eastern Churches.

Protestantism[link]

Part of a series on the
Attributes of God
Aseity Eternity Graciousness Holiness Immanence Immutability Impassibility Impeccability Incorporeality Love Mission Omnibenevolence Omnipotence Omnipresence Omniscience Oneness Providence Righteousness Simplicity Transcendence Trinity Veracity Wrath
v t e

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

The Protestant Reformation stood in opposition to the beliefs of tangible holiness in the Catholic Church and rejected most of its teachings regarding devotional practice, language and imagery. The early Protestant Reformers, who were often scholars of Ancient Greek and also borrowed from Jewish scholarship, recognized that holiness is an attribute of God, and holiness is always part of the presence of God. Yet they also recognized that "practical holiness" was the evidence of the presence of God in the converted believer. Martin Luther viewed God's grace (and therefore God's holiness), as an invasion of the life. Actions that demonstrated holiness would spring up, not premeditated, as the believer focused more and more on his or her relationship with Christ. This was the life of faith, according to Luther; a life in which one recognizes that the sin inherent in human nature never departs, yet Grace invades each human spirit and draws each person after Christ.

Calvin, on the other hand, formulated a practical system of holiness that even tied in with culture and social justice. All unholy actions, Calvin reasoned, resulted in suffering. Thus he proved out to the city fathers of Geneva that dancing and other social vices always ended with the wealthy oppressing the poor. A holy life, in his outlook, was pietistic and simple, a life that shunned extravagance, excess, and vanity. On a personal level, Calvin believed that suffering would be a manifestation of taking on the Cross of Christ, but suffering was also part of the process of holiness. He expected that all Christians would suffer in this life, not as punishment, but rather as participation in union with Christ, who suffered for them. And yet, socially, Calvin argued that a holy society would end up as a gentle, kindly society (except to criminals) where the poor would be protected from the abuses of the wealthy, the lawyers, and others who normally preyed upon them.

In Protestantism, especially in American branches of Protestantism of the more Pentecostal variety, holiness has acquired the secondary meaning of the reshaping of a person through spiritual rebirth. The term owes its origin to John Wesley's concept of "scriptural holiness" or Christian perfection.

The Holiness movement began within Methodism in the United States, among those who thought the church had lost the zeal and emphasis on personal holiness of Wesley's day. In the latter part of the 19th century revival meetings were held, attended by thousands. In Vineland, N.J in 1867 a camp meeting was begun and the "National Holiness Camp Meeting Association, which went on to establish many holiness camp meetings across the nation. Some adherents to the movement remained within their denominations; others founded new denominations, such as the Free Methodist Church, the Church of the Nazarene, and the Church of God (Anderson). Within a generation another movement, the Pentecostal movement was born, drawing heavily from the Holiness Movement. Around the middle of the 20th century, the Conservative Holiness Movement was born - a conservative offshoot of the Holiness movement.

The Higher Life movement appeared in the British Isles during the mid-19th century.

In the contemporary Holiness movement, the idea that holiness is relational is growing. In this thought, the core notion of holiness is love. Other notions of holiness, such as purity, being set apart, perfection, keeping rules, and total commitment, are seen as contributory notions of holiness. These contributory notions find their ultimate legitimacy when love is at their core (Thomas Jay Oord and Michael Lodahl).

Commonly recognized outward expressions or "standards" of holiness among more fundamental adherents frequently include applications relative to dress, hair, and appearance: e.g., short hair on men, uncut hair on women, and prohibitions against shorts, pants on women, make-up and jewelry. Other common injunctions are against places of worldly amusement, mixed swimming, smoking, minced oaths, as well as the eschewing of television and radio.

More traditional or mainline Protestant denominations, such as the Anglican, Lutheran, and some Methodist denominations, believe in Holy Sacraments that the clergy perform, such as Holy Communion and Holy Baptism. As well as strong belief in the Holy Catholic Church, Holy Scripture, Holy Trinity, and the Holy Covenant. They also believe that angels and saints are called to holiness.

Orthodoxy[link]

• see Glorification

Islam[link]

Among the names of God in Quran is القدوس (Al-Qoddous) : 59:23 and 62:1, the closest English translation for which is 'sacred'. As God alone is considered to be the ultimate source of all true purification and guidance in Islam, all holiness is his alone too.^{[clarification needed][citation needed]}

Judaism[link]

Some^[who?] consider that the Hebrew noun for "holiness," kedushah (Hebrew: קדושה‎), from the adjective kodesh, "holy," has the connotation of "separateness", although Hebrew has other verbs and adjectives to indicate separate, such as badal (בָּדַל). That which is holy in Judaism is set apart, and the separation is maintained by both legal and spiritual measures.^{[citation needed]} Certain places and times are intrinsically sacred, and strictures are placed on one's actions in those situations. However, holiness is not a single state, but contains a broad spectrum. The Mishnah lists concentric circles of holiness surrounding the Temple in Jerusalem: Holy of Holies; Temple Sanctuary; Temple Vestibule; Court of Priests; Court of Israelites; Court of Women; Temple Mount; the walled city of Jerusalem; all the walled cities of Israel; and the borders of the Land of Israel. Distinctions are made as to who and what are permitted in each area. Likewise, the holidays, including and especially the Sabbath, are considered to be holy in time; the Torah calls them "holy [days of] gathering. Work is not allowed on those days, and rabbinic tradition lists 39 categories of activity that are specifically prohibited.

The Torah describes the Aaronite priests and the Levites as being selected by God to perform the Temple services; they, as well, are called "holy." A righteous person (tzadik) is also considered to be holy.^{[citation needed]}

Beyond the intrinsically holy, objects can become sacred through consecration. Any personal possession may be dedicated to the Temple of God, after which its misappropriation is considered among the gravest of sins. The various sacrifices are holy; those that may be eaten have very specific rules concerning who may eat which of their parts, and time limits on when the consumption must be completed. Most sacrifices contain a part to be consumed by the priests - a portion of the holy to be consumed by God's holy devotees.

The encounter with the holy is seen as eminently desirable, and at the same time fearful and awesome. For the strongest penalties are applied to one who transgresses in this area - one could in theory receive either the death penalty or the heavenly punishment of karet, spiritual excision, for mis-stepping in his close approach to God's domain.

Sacred ground[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

Usually, social or religious groups considers an area sacred or holy, where there is a human presence, e.g. a cemetery or a building or site for worship. However, there are natural areas on each continent—canyons, mountains, rivers, forests, deserts, seashores, etc. that are considered sacred, where the site's value as a sacred area trumps its use for economic purposes, and is usually preserved for perpetuity.

See also[link]

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article holy.

• Buddhology
• Hallow
• Joseph Campbell
• Neopaganism
• New Age
• Polytheistic reconstructionism
• Sacred architecture
• Sacred art
• Sacred dance
• Sacred geometry
• Sacred history
• Sacred language
• Sacred music
• Sacred Mysteries
• Sacred prostitution
• Sacred text
• Sacred Tradition
• Sacred waters
• Theology
• Theosophy
• Traditionalist School

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Durkheim, Emile (1915) The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life. London: George Allen & Unwin (originally published 1915, English translation 1915).
• Eliade, Mircea (1957) The Sacred and the Profane: The Nature of Religion. Translated by Willard R. Trask. (New York: Harcourt, Brace & World).
• Thomas Jay Oord and Michael Lodahl (2006) Relational Holiness: Responding to the Call of Love. Kansas City, Missouri: Beacon Hill.
• Pals, Daniel (1996) Seven Theories of Religion. New York: Oxford University Press. US ISBN 0-19-508725-9 (pbk).
• Sharpe, Eric J. (1986) Comparative Religion: A History, 2nd ed., (London: Duckworth, 1986/La Salle: Open Court). US ISBN 0-8126-9041-9.

His Eminence Tarcisio Bertone, S.D.B.
Cardinal Secretary of State
See	Frascati
Appointed	15 September 2006 (&100000000000000050000005 years, &10000000000000285000000285 days)
Predecessor	Angelo Sodano
Other posts	Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church Cardinal-Bishop of Frascati
Orders
Ordination	1 July 1960 by Albino Mensa
Consecration	1 August 1991 by Albino Mensa
Created Cardinal	21 October 2003
Rank	Cardinal-Bishop
Personal details
Birth name	Tarcisio Bertone
Born	(1934-12-02) December 2, 1934 (age 77) Romano Canavese, Italy
Nationality	Italian
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Residence	Vatican City
Previous post	Archbishop of Vercelli (1991 - 1995) Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (1995 - 2002) Archbishop of Genoa (2002 - 2006) Cardinal-Priest of S. Maria Auxiliatrice in via Tuscolana (2003 - 2008)
Motto	fidem custodire, concordiam servare
Signature
Coat of arms

Tarcisio Pietro Evasio Bertone, S.D.B. (born 2 December 1934) is an Italian prelate and diplomat. A cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, he currently serves as Cardinal Secretary of State and Camerlengo, having previously served as Archbishop of Vercelli from 1991 to 1995, as Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, when Cardinal Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI, was Prefect, and Archbishop of Genoa from 2002 to 2006. Bertone was elevated to the cardinalate in 2003. On 10 May 2008, he was named Cardinal-Bishop of Frascati. Besides his native Italian, Bertone speaks fluent French, Spanish, German and Portuguese. He has some knowledge of English, although he is not fluent, and he can read Polish (and he has a Polish secretary), Latin, Greek and Hebrew.

Early life[link]

Bertone was born in Romano Canavese, Piedmont, the fifth of eight children. Bertone has stated that his mother was a determined anti-Fascist militant of the Italian People's Party, and later a Christian Democrat.

He professed his vows as a member of the Salesians on 3 December 1950, and was ordained a priest by Archbishop Albino Mensa on 1 July 1960. He holds a doctorate in canon law. His dissertation was entitled The Governance of the Church in the Thought of Pope Benedict XIV (1740–1758).^[1] He served as Professor of Special Moral Theology at the Pontifical Salesian University from 1967 until his appointment as Professor of Canon Law in 1976, a post he held until 1991. He was a visiting professor of Public Ecclesiastical Law at the Institute Utriusque Iuris of the Pontifical Lateran University in 1978. In 1988 he was appointed to a group of experts that assisted Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in negotiations with the then-excommunicated Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. He was also commissioned by Pope John Paul II to assist Emmanuel Milingo, Archbishop Emeritus of Lusaka, Zambia, in returning to the Catholic Church in 2001. Milingo had left the Church to marry Maria Sung of the Moon sect.^[2]

Archbishop and Cardinal[link]

On 4 July 1991, Bertone was appointed Archbishop of Vercelli by Pope John Paul II. He was consecrated a bishop one month later by Archbishop Mensa, who had also ordained him. He held this post until his resignation in 1995 upon being named Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith under Cardinal Ratzinger, who would later become Pope Benedict XVI. Appointed Archbishop of Genoa on 10 December 2002 and installed on 2 February 2003, Bertone was elevated to the College of Cardinals in the consistory of 21 October 2003, as Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria Ausiliatrice in Via Tuscolana. Then-Archbishop Angelo Amato succeeded Bertone as Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, before becoming the Cardinal Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

As a member of the Society of Don Bosco, he is considered a priest who has undertaken work with youth whom, in Pope John Paul's last words, he had sought throughout his papacy. Bertone's secretary once related a story that "Bertone once decided to take a public bus to the Apostolic Palace. As the Cardinal in his long black cassock and red fascia strode on to the bus, the people, especially a group of young people, stared in silence. Bertone immediately broke the ice with his 'characteristic' smile. By the time he reached his destination the prelate had engaged the youth in a deep conversation on love, sex, virginity, and chastity".^[3]

He later specialized in the relationship between social morality, faith and politics. He also assisted with the revision of the 1983 Code of Canon Law, and undertook pastoral work in parishes. In the Jubilee Year 2000, Cardinal Bertone was entrusted by John Paul II with the publication of the third part of the secret of Fatima.

Bertone was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2005 papal conclave that selected Pope Benedict XVI. Cardinal Bertone remains eligible to vote in any future conclaves that begin before his 80th birthday on 2 December 2014.

Styles of Tarcisio Bertone
Reference style	His Eminence
Spoken style	Your Eminence
Informal style	Cardinal
See	Frascati (Suburbicarian)

On 15 March 2005, Bertone was in the news for "breaking the Church's silence" and sharply criticizing Dan Brown's 2003 novel The Da Vinci Code, saying the book was "shameful and unfounded lies", and that believers should boycott the book. Both Bertone and official Vatican spokespeople insisted that Bertone was not speaking as an official representative of the Church, but it was also noted that Bertone's high placement within the Church hierarchy (his name was often cited as a potential candidate for the next pontiff) gave his words considerable weight, such that his comments were often reported by various media as an official statement from the Vatican.^[4] In 2006, the NBC news program Dateline described his statement as "a high-ranking Vatican Cardinal called for a boycott of the film."

Cardinal Secretary of State[link]

On 22 June 2006, Benedict XVI appointed Cardinal Bertone to replace Angelo Sodano as the Cardinal Secretary of State, assuming the office on 15 September of that same year. It was revealed on the following 31 August that Cardinal Bertone had a dream in which Pope John Paul II spoke to him saying "do not be afraid" to the Cardinal as he prepared to take his new job.^[5]

On 4 April 2007, Benedict XVI also appointed Cardinal Bertone as Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church (or Chamberlain). The duties of the Camerlengo are largely confined to administration during the vacancy of the Holy See.^[6] On 10 May 2008 he was promoted to the rank of Cardinal-Bishop of Frascati.^[7]

Bertone is known to study the problem at hand before taking action. One such example is when after he was named Archbishop of Vercelli he "locked himself in his room all night and studied the life of Saint Eusebius, who was bishop of the city back in 345 AD".^[3]

He is a member of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Congregation for the Clergy, Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of Sacraments, Congregation for the Oriental Churches, Congregation for Bishops and Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. He will hold these memberships until his 80th birthday on 2 December 2014.

Evaluation of dicasteries[link]

Two weeks before entering office, Bertone was interviewed and asked his opinion about reforms of the Roman Curia. Bertone remarked, "After almost two decades, an evaluation of how the dicasteries are organised is more than comprehensible, in order to reflect on how to make the existing structures more efficient for the mission of the Church and eventually to consider whether all of them should be maintained".^[8]

Church and sports[link]

Cardinal Bertone suggested in December 2006 that the Holy See "could, in future, field a team that plays at the top level, with Roma, Internazionale, Genoa and Sampdoria." He continued by saying, "If we just take the Brazilian students from our Pontifical universities we could have a magnificent squad".^[9] However, only hours later he said, "I've got much more to do than cultivating a football squad for the Vatican", and explained that his earlier remark was not intended to be taken seriously.^[10]

Defence of Pius XII[link]

On 5 June 2007, at a conference announcing the release of a new biography of Pope Pius XII, Bertone defended Pius against claims of indifference toward the Jews during The Holocaust. The Cardinal condemned this accusation as a "black legend" and "an attack on good sense and on rationality", which has "become so firmly established that even to scratch it is an arduous task".^[11] Although he admitted that Pius XII had been "cautious" in condemning Nazi Germany, Bertone stated that Nazi forces would have intensified its program of genocide had the Pope been more outspoken.

Pope Benedict XVI Islam controversy[link]

On 16 September 2006, Cardinal Bertone, after only one day in his job as Cardinal Secretary of State, released a declaration explaining that the "position of the Pope concerning Islam is unequivocally that expressed by the conciliar document Nostra Aetate" and that "the Pope's option in favour of inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue is equally unequivocal."^[12]

As for the opinion of the Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologus which he quoted during his Regensburg talk, the Holy Father did not mean, nor does he mean, to make that opinion his own in any way. He simply used it as a means to undertake—in an academic context, and as is evident from a complete and attentive reading of the text—certain reflections on the theme of the relationship between religion and violence in general, and to conclude with a clear and radical rejection of the religious motivation for violence, from whatever side it may come. [The Pope] sincerely regrets that certain passages of his address could have sounded offensive to the sensitivities of the Muslim faithful and should have been interpreted in a manner that in no way corresponds to his intentions.^{[13][14] (emphasis as in original)}

Comments by Patriarch Alexius II[link]

On 5 December 2006, Patriarch Alexius II accused the Holy See of an "extremely unfriendly policy"^[15] when he said that the Catholic Church was poaching converts in Orthodox lands in Russia and other ex-Soviet republics. In response, Cardinal Bertone said, "We do not want to engage in proselytism in Russia".^[16]

[edit] Le Figaro interview

On 31 March 2007, Cardinal Bertone confirmed Pope Benedict's impending publication of the long-expected motu proprio extending the indult for the celebration of the Tridentine Mass in an interview with the French newspaper Le Figaro.^[17][18][19]

In the same interview, Bertone "blasted the media for highlighting the Vatican's views on sex while maintaining a 'deafening silence' about charity work done by thousands of Catholic organisations around the world."^[20] He continued by saying, "I see a fixation by some journalists on moral topics, such as abortion and homosexual unions, which are certainly important issues but absolutely do not constitute the thinking and work of the Church."

Proposed excommunication of drug dealers[link]

On 14 January 2009, Cardinal Bertone suggested that the Church would consider taking much stronger action against drug dealers. This action might possibly include excommunication. He made a statement about the Church's alarm at the "disaster" of drug-fuelled violence on the eve of a trip to Mexico. [2]

Criticisms[link]

Controversial statements on child abuse within the Church[link]

In his book The Case Of The Pope, Geoffrey Robertson criticises Bertone for his hyperbolic rejection of the "demand that a bishop be obligated to contact police to denounce a priest who had admitted paedophilia". Bertone argued that "if a priest cannot confide in his bishop for fear of being denounced then it would mean that there is no more liberty of conscience". As recently as Easter 2010, Bertone has publicly blamed the child sex scandal on homosexual infiltration of the clergy, contrary to the findings of a report from 2003 commissioned by the Holy See, which found no causal link.^[21]

Political controversies in the Roman Curia[link]

Bertone has been criticized by Catholic journalist Sandro Magister for having exposed Benedict XVI to public controversies surrounding episcopal nominations in Italy and Poland.^[22] Magister also writes that the problems in communications and governance that were visible during the Williamson affair can largely be attributed to Bertone.^[23] He further alleges that Bertone was involved in a doctrinal controversy about abortion and that he supported the procedure in extraordinary circumstances.^[24]

Third Secret of Fatima controversy[link]

Bertone has been accused of lying about the content of the Third Secret of Fatima in his book, The Last Secret of Fatima,^[25] and also in televised appearances.^[26][27] After Bertone's book was published, Italian journalist Antonio Socci published an article entitled, Dear Cardinal Bertone: Who—between you and me—is Deliberately Lying?.^[26] Catholic attorney Christopher Ferrara wrote an entire book called The Secret Still Hidden (content available online) aimed at exposing and debunking the claims of Cardinal Bertone with respect to Fatima.^[27] The book contains an appendix entitled, 101 Grounds for Doubting Cardinal Bertone's Account. In particular, it is claimed that Bertone engaged in a systematic deception along with Cardinal Sodano and Cardinal Ratzinger to cover-up the existence of a one-page document containing the words of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which some believe contains information about the Apocalypse and a great apostasy.^[27][28] Bertone denied that he told anything less than the full truth about Fatima in a televised appearance.^[29]

Awards and honours[link]

In February 2010 Cardinal Bertone was granted an honorary doctorate by the Pontifical Theological Faculty of Wrocław, Poland, conferred by the rector of the institution, Waldemar Irek, in a ceremony celebrated in the evening of 11 February 2009. At the same time, President Lech Kaczyński of Poland conferred on the cardinal the country's highest decoration for foreign nationals, the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of Poland, "for the lofty merits acquired in the development of the collaboration between the Republic of Poland and the Holy See and for the work carried out in favor of the Church in Poland."

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tarcisio Bertone

• Biography at catholic-pages.com
• Tarcisio Bertone, Salesian Cardinal
• Bertone interview
• Thomas P. Doyle - Letter to Cardinal Bertone