Vatican City

The Vatican City State is all that's left of the former Papal States, which covered an area of 44 030 sq. km in 1859. Most of this territory became part of Italy in the course of Italian unification. In 1871 the area of the papacy was limited to the palace of Vatican, the palace of Lateran and Castelgandolfo villa. The popes firmly refused to conform to this arrangement, and the Holy See was established as an autonomous region in 1929.
John XXIII opened the first Ecumenical Council in October of 1962. The daily agenda involved modernization of the Catholic Church. This council, known as Vatican II, is credited with transforming many of the church's practices. In the wake of the Council's reforms, bishops got more power at the expense of centralized authority, liturgy texts became simpler and easier to understand, and laymen began to play a greater role in church affairs.
Cardinal Albino Luciani succeeded Paul VI in 1978. He took the name John Paul I. Sadly, he died just 34 days later. This pope's rule was the shortest in 373 years. Polish Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, otherwise known as Pope John Paul II, succeeded him. He became the first pope not of Italian origin since the 1500s. He died in 2005. His reign was marked by many surprising events, including an assassination attempt in 1981, which the pope survived. The perpetrator, a Turkish terrorist, later met with the pope and received forgiveness. In 1985 the Italian state and the Vatican ratified a new treaty, which replaced the one adopted in 1929. Under this agreement Vatican City received independence. Also, the Catholic Church lost its status as the religion of the Italian state.
John Paul II is remembered for his devotion and dedication to the poor. He is also credited with speeding up the fall of communism in many Central and Eastern European countries, including his native Poland. He was not such a champion with regard to other matters, however. We may recall his highly conservative stances on issues like homosexuality and birth control. He adopted a cautious approach when the US church sexual abuse scandals were publicized in 2002 and refrained from comment. During his tenure as ambassador of the Vatican, he travelled to 129 countries. He has canonized 482 saints.
German cardinal Joseph Ratzinger succeeded him. He is as conservative as his predecessor, perhaps more. The church's power is likely to remain centralized during his reign.
The Vatican City State is located on Vatican Hill, on the banks of the Tiber River. All judicial, executive and legislative powers of the Vatican are concentrated in the hands of the pope. He is the Head of State and the Head of Government. The Vatican is a non-hereditary elective monarchy, and the sovereign has complete authority and supreme power. He is elected for a life term. The secretary of state and the governor of Vatican City are subordinate to him. His main body of advisers are the College of Cardinals. This body traditionally elects the popes.
Vatican is derived from the Latin Mons Vaticanus, meaning Vatican Hill. The name predates the birth of Christ. Latin is the official language of the Vatican, and even the ATMs use Latin - a phenomenon that cannot be seen anywhere else in the world. The largest city of the Vatican is Vatican City. The state has 921 citizens and an area of 0.44 sq. km, making it the smallest independent nation state in the world, the fact being that the Knights of Malta is not considered a country. Vatican City is an isolated enclave in Rome. It is officially a sovereign territory of the Holy See and the site of the papal residence, Apostolic Palace. This magnificent edifice incorporates the Sistine Chapel. St. Peter's Basilica and a number of renowned museums are also in the vicinity. The city acquired its present form under the treaty of 1929. Some of the properties on city grounds have a status similar to that of foreign embassies. These include the Lateran Basilica, the basilica of St. Paul outside the walls and Castelgandolfo villa, the pope's summer residence.
The Swiss Guards are in control of security at Vatican City. This voluntary force is comprised of Swiss male citizens. They are more of a police force and the pope's bodyguard. Vatican also has its own bank, supermarket, electric power plant, train station, publishing house and post office. It issues its own stamps and coins.
The main industries of the Vatican are printing, international finance and banking, and tourism. The region has a moderate Mediterranean climate. The Vatican receives financial support from Catholics throughout the world.
Almost all its citizens reside inside the city walls. Most of the people who live here are clergymen, including priests and other church officials. Around 3000 people living outside the Vatican comprise its workforce.
The magnificent art housed inside the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica contribute to the Vatican's status as a popular tourist destination. The galleries feature works by Bernini, Botticelli and other artists of equal magnitude. Other attractions include the Vatican's museums and the world-known Vatican library.
Surprisingly enough, the Vatican has the highest crime rate per capita of all countries in the world. It is 20 times higher than Italy. The most frequent crimes involve petty theft. Perpetrators are rarely locals and almost never get caught.
There are no airports at Vatican City. There is one helicopter landing facility and a railroad connecting the city to Italy's network. It is only used to transport cargo.
On occasion, the Vatican allows its artefacts and treasures to be exhibited outside Rome. Recently an Inuit kayak from the Canadian Western Arctic was discovered here. It is the sixth of its kind in the entire world. It was found by Robert Fung, the chairman of the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation.
The Vatacan has often invoked criticism for its conservative, backward stances on abortion and birth control. An especially scandalous case involves the Zapatista Army of National Liberation or EZLN. This is a civil rights organization based in Mexico. The issue involves penalization of abortion in Chiapas, the headquarters of the organization and one of the poorest Mexican states. The EZLN issued a Revolutionary Law for Women, under which women have the right to decide how many children they want to bear and raise. Naturally this can only be achieved by giving women access to sex education, contraceptives and abortion procedures. The Catholic Church is exceptionally powerful in the region of Latin America. Progressive catholic priests maintain that unacceptable as abortion may be, it is something of a necessary evil in cases where the prospective mother is too poor or ill to take care of a child. Catholic fundamentalists are another matter. The Vatican does not allow abortion even if giving birth may kill the mother or if the child is conceived in rape. At the present, 1500 women die in Mexico every year in result of botched abortions. Many women buy birth control pills illegally. The fact is that the Vatican's stance only serves to obstruct access to safe abortions. There are hopes that the church will make efforts to revise its practices in compliance with the tendencies of the modern world.