Section for Relations with States

This article is part of a series on
Vatican City
History Duchy of Rome (554–751) Donation of Pepin (750s) Papal States (754–1870) Annates Congregation for Borders Fundamental Statute for the Secular Government of the States of the Church Capture of Rome (1870) "Prisoner in the Vatican" (1870–1929) Roman Question Law of Guarantees Lateran Treaty (1929) Vatican City (1929–present) Governorate of Vatican City State 2010 Vatican employee sex scandal History of the Catholic Church since 1962 History of the Papacy Roman Historical Institutes Savoyard Era Vatileaks scandal Vatican Historical Museum Vatican City during World War II
Law Acta Apostolicae Sedis Fundamental Law of Vatican City State Capital punishment in Vatican City Crime in Vatican City Lateran Treaty Legal status of the Holy See (Alperin v. Vatican Bank) (Doe v. Holy See) Temporal power of the Holy See Tribunal of Vatican City State Canon law 1983 Code of Canon Law Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches Apostolic Constitution Pastor Bonus LGBTQ rights in Vatican City
Politics and government Archives Association of Vatican Lay Workers Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State President President: Giuseppe Bertello Pontifical Commission Secretariat for Communications Holy See Press Office L'Osservatore Romano (Vatican City newspaper) L'Osservatore della Domenica List of newspapers in Vatican City Vatican Radio lawsuit Vatican Information Service .va (Vatican City internet sites) Vatican Publishing House Vatican Radio Vatican Television Center Secretariat of State Secretary: Pietro Parolin Fabric of Saint Peter Foreign relations of the Holy See Papal apocrisiarius Governorate of Vatican City State Governor of Vatican City College of Cardinals Camerlengo (Chamberlain) Dean Vical General Court of Cassation President: Dominique Mamberti Court of Appeals President: Pio Vito Pinto Tribunale President: G. di Sanguinetto Military in Vatican City Swiss Guard Corps of Gendarmerie of Vatican City Corps of Firefighters of the Vatican City State
Papacy Pope Popemobile Catholic Church Latin Church Holy See Diocese of Rome Roman Curia Universi Dominici Gregis Papal conclave (Papal elections) Universi Dominici gregis Recent conclaves 1978 (Oct) 2005 2013 Papal household Papal Gentleman Prefecture of the Pontifical Household
Foreign relations Section for Relations with States Concordats Multilateral foreign policy Status in international law Lateran Treaty Section for Relations with States (Roman Curia) Secretary for Relations with States: Paul Gallagher Undersecretaries for Relations with States: Antoine Camilleri List of diplomatic missions of the Holy See Nuncios Vatican City and Holy See passports Visa requirements Visa policy The Holy See and the United Nations Holy See–Italy relations Holy See–United States relations Holy See–Israel relations Holy See–Palestine relations
Economy Institute for the Works of Religion Telephone numbers in Vatican City Tourism in Vatican City Transport in Vatican City Rail transport in Vatican City Secretariat for the Economy Financial Information Authority Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See Vatican euro coins Vatican lira Properties of the Holy See
Symbols Flag List of Papal flags Anthem Coat of arms of Vatican City 00120 (Vatican postcode) Papal tiara Papal coronation
Culture Vatican Museums Vatican Library Music of Vatican City Sistine Chapel Choir Languages of Vatican City Women in Vatican City Vatican Christmas Tree Sport in Vatican City Papal Concert to Commemorate the Shoah Postage stamps and postal history of Vatican City Public holidays in Vatican City Pontifical Academy of Sciences Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences The Story of the Vatican, 1941 documentary
Buildings/geography Apostolic nunciature Apostolic Palace Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore Borgia Apartments Bramante Staircase Domus Sanctae Marthae Fountains of St. Peter's Square Gardens of Vatican City Geography of Vatican City Gregorian Tower Mater Ecclesiae (monastery) Monument to the Royal Stuarts Palace of the Holy Office Palazzi Pontifici Papal Apartments Saint Peter's Basilica Saint Peter's Square Saint Peter's tomb Lateran Basilica Lateran Palace Leonine City Niccoline Chapel Old St. Peter's Basilica Papal tombs Papal tombs in Old St. Peter's Basilica Paul VI Audience Hall Tomb of the Julii Torre San Giovanni Scala Regia Via della Conciliazione Vatican Climate Forest Vatican Heliport Vatican Hill Vatican Necropolis Papal Concert to Commemorate the Shoah Postage stamps and postal history of Vatican City Public holidays in Vatican City Vatican Secret Archives St. Peter's Baldachin Sala Regia San Pellegrino in Vaticano Sant'Anna dei Palafrenieri Santa Maria della Pietà in Camposanto dei Teutonici Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope Vatican Observatory Vatican Pharmacy Bibliotheca Palatina Cappella Giulia Cappella Paolina Cardinal Secretary of State Casina Pio IV Circus of Nero Redemptoris Mater Chapel Saints Martin and Sebastian of the Swiss Santo Stefano degli Abissini Santo Stefano degli Ungheresi Teutonic Cemetery Cortile del Belvedere Passetto di Borgo Porta San Pellegrino
Vatican Museums Vatican Museums Vatican Gallery of Maps Gallery of Sistine Chapel ceiling Collection of Modern Religious Art Raphael Rooms Redemptoris Mater Chapel Restoration of the Sistine Chapel frescoes Sistine Chapel Sistine Chapel ceiling The Last Judgment by Michelangelo
Outline Index Vatican City portal Catholicism portal
v t

The Section for Relations with States or Second Section of the Secretariat of State is the body within the Roman Curia charged with dealing with matters that involve relations with civil governments. It has been part of the Vatican Secretariat of State since 1909.

It is analogous to the foreign ministry of a state.

The origin of this body is found in the Congregatio super negotiis ecclesiasticis extraordinariis Regni Galliarum (Congregation on the Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs of the Kingdom of France) that Pope Pius VI set up on 28 May 1793 to deal with problems arising for the Church as a result of the French Revolution. After the fall of Napoleon, Pope Pius VII gave it competence for negotiations with all governments about ecclesiastical matters and renamed it the Congregatio extraordinaria praeposita negotiis ecclesiasticis orbis catholici (Extraordinary Congregation in Charge of Ecclesiastical Affairs of the Catholic World). Under Pope Leo XIII, its name was shortened to Congregatio pro negotiis ecclesiasticis extraordinariis (the Congregation for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs), which remained its title even after Pope Pius X in 1909 made it part of the Secretariat of State.^[1]

This arrangement was incorporated into the 1917 Code of Canon Law, which described the Secretariat of State as composed of three sections, of which this congregation was the first:

The Office of the Secretariat of State, presided over by the Cardinal Secretary of State, consists of three sections, in the following order:

1. The First Section, headed by the Secretary of the Congregation for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs, deals with the matters that must be submitted to it in accordance with canon 255, leaving other matters to specific Congregations in accordance with their different nature;

2. The Second Section, headed by the Substitute [i.e., Alternate Secretary of State), deals with ordinary matters;

3. The Third Section, headed by the Chancellor of Apostolic Briefs, deals with the despatch of Briefs.^[2]

In its canon 255, that Code defined the congregation's field of competence as erecting or dividing dioceses and appointing bishops where negotiations with civil governments were involved, and other matters that the Pope might choose to entrust to it, especially those in some linked to civil law and the Holy See's agreements and concordats with states.^[3] The Cardinal Secretary of State was concurrently prefect of the Congregation for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs with the secretary equalivant to the current secretary for Relations with States.

With the apostolic constitution Regimini Ecclesiae Universae of 15 August 1967, Pope Paul VI, following the recommendations of the Second Vatican Council, reorganized the Secretariat of State, suppressing the Chancery of Apostolic Briefs. He established what had been the First Section as a body distinct from the Secretariat of State, though closely related, and called it the Council for the Public Affairs of the Church. On 28 June 1988, Pope John Paul II issued the Apostolic Constitution Pastor Bonus, making that same body, under the name "Section for Relations with States", the second of two sections of the Secretariat of State, the first being the Section for General Affairs.^[1]

Articles 45–47 of Pastor Bonus indicate dealing with heads of government as the special task of the Section for Relations with States. Its field of competence includes fostering diplomatic and other relations with states and other subjects of public international law such as the United Nations and the European Union, dealing with matters of common interest to them and to the Holy See by means such as concordats and similar agreements, while respecting the views of interested episcopal conferences. It represents the Holy See at international organizations and conferences. Where agreements have been made with governments about appointments of bishops and the definition of dioceses, it makes the necessary arrangements in consultation with the congregation that has general competence for such matters in the country in question (generally the Congregation for Bishops).^[4]

From the start, this body has been placed under the presidency of the Cardinal Secretary of State. Under him, it is headed by the Secretary for Relations with States, who is aided by a staff that includes the Undersecretary for Relations with States.

The current Secretary for Relations with States is Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, and the current Undersecretary is Monsignor Miroslav Stanislav Wachowski.

• History of the Secretariat of State
• Congregation for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs at Catholic-hierarchy.org