Wielding the Temporal Sword
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WIELDING THE TEMPORAL SWORD AN ANALYSIS OF THE CREATION OF VATICAN CITY STATE IN RELATION TO THE CATHOLIC PERSPECTIVE ON STATEHOOD AND CATHOLIC DOCTRINE ON THE RELATION BETWEEN CHURCH AND STATE Master Thesis Political Theory Guido As August 15th 2016 Supervisor: Prof. dr. M.L.J. Wissenburg Abstract The Lateran Treaty of 1929 between Italy and the Roman Catholic Church constitutes the creation of Vatican City State. This thesis gives an account of the negotiations leading up to the signing of the Treaty. The creation of the City State draws our attention to two specific concepts: statehood and the separation of Church and state. The Catholic perspective on these concepts is presented and compared to other dominant theories of the concepts The Catholic perception of statehood in the early 20th century was based on the work of Fr. Taparelli, a Jesuit scholar who was heavily inspired by Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274). The thesis concludes that there is a discrepancy between this theoretical conception of statehood, and the creation of Vatican City State. This can be explained by the fact that obtaining statehood was instrumental to the Holy See’s ambition of becoming sovereign. Catholic doctrine on the relation between Church and state has always rejected the idea of a full separation. Papal teachings have traditionally promoted a differentiation between a spiritual and temporal sphere of power, each supreme in its own domain, but cooperating in harmony. Depending on one´s interpretation, the creation of Vatican City is in line with this doctrine. Key words: Lateran Treaty, Vatican City State, separation of Church and State, statehood, sovereignty 2 Contents Chapter 1. Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 5 1.1 The signing of the Lateran Pacts ................................................................................................... 5 1.2. Critique ........................................................................................................................................ 5 1.3. Statehood and Catholic Doctrine ................................................................................................. 6 1.4. Research Question ...................................................................................................................... 7 Chapter 2. Setting the S(c)e(n)e ............................................................................................................. 9 2.1. A Confusing Trinity: Church, Vatican and See .............................................................................. 9 2.2. The Papal States ........................................................................................................................ 10 2.2.a. History of the Papal States.................................................................................................. 10 2.2.b. Italian Unification ............................................................................................................... 11 2.2.c. Law of Guarantees .............................................................................................................. 11 Chapter 3. Negotiating the Lateran Pacts............................................................................................. 13 3.1. A period of tensions .................................................................................................................. 13 3.2. Diplomatic efforts during the time of the Roman Question ...................................................... 14 3.3. Details of the Negotiations ........................................................................................................ 16 3.3.a. Pacelli & Biggini .................................................................................................................. 16 3.3.b. Sovereignty ......................................................................................................................... 17 3.3.c. Territory .............................................................................................................................. 18 3.3.d. Citizenship .......................................................................................................................... 19 3.3.d. Money ................................................................................................................................ 19 3.3.f. The Concordat ..................................................................................................................... 20 Chapter 4. On Statehood and Sovereignty ........................................................................................... 22 4.1. Introduction............................................................................................................................... 22 4.2. Theories on Statehood: an overview ......................................................................................... 22 4.2.a. The State as sovereignty ..................................................................................................... 22 4.2.b. The State as Governance .................................................................................................... 24 4.3. A Closer View ............................................................................................................................. 25 4.3.a. Aquinas ............................................................................................................................... 25 4.3.b. Marsilius of Padua .............................................................................................................. 27 4.3.c. Jean Bodin ........................................................................................................................... 28 4.4. Statehood at the time of the Treaty .......................................................................................... 29 4.4.a. international consensus on statehood ............................................................................... 29 4.4.b. The Catholic perspective on statehood in the 1920s .......................................................... 30 3 Chapter 5: On the relation Church and State ....................................................................................... 32 5.1. Early Roman Era ........................................................................................................................ 32 5.1.a. Christendom in the Roman Empire ..................................................................................... 33 5.1.b. Papal teachings in the Roman Era ...................................................................................... 35 5.2. Middle Ages ............................................................................................................................... 36 5.2.a. Christendom in the Middle Ages: Church and Monarchy ................................................... 36 5.2.b. Catholic Doctrine in the Middle Ages ................................................................................. 38 5.3. Renaissance and Modern era .................................................................................................... 39 5.4. Different perspectives on the Separation of Church and State ................................................. 39 5.4. a. Protestantism: privatization of religion ............................................................................. 39 5.4.b. Early Enlightenment ........................................................................................................... 40 5.4.c. ‘French’ Enlightenment Thinkers ........................................................................................ 41 5.4.d. Founding Fathers ................................................................................................................ 41 5.5. Catholic views of the Concept from 1870 onwards ................................................................... 42 5.5.a. Pope Gregory XVI ................................................................................................................ 42 5.5.b. Leo XIII ................................................................................................................................ 43 5.6. Catholic Doctrine on the Separation post-Vatican II .................................................................. 47 Chapter 6. Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 48 6.1. Negotiating Sovereignty ............................................................................................................ 48 6.2. On Statehood ............................................................................................................................ 48 6.3. On the Separation of Church and State ..................................................................................... 49 6.4. Discussion .................................................................................................................................. 50 Sources ................................................................................................................................................. 51 Consulted Archives ........................................................................................................................... 51 Bibliography ....................................................................................................................................