Section for Relations with States (Roman Curia)

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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.

Contents

• 1History
• 2Present competence
• 3Composition
 • 4List of Secretaries of Council for the Public Affairs of the Church and Secretaries for Relations
with States
• 5List of Undersecretaries for Relations with States
• 6References
• 7External links

History[edit]
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]

Present competence[edit]
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]

Composition[edit]
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.

List of Secretaries of Council for the Public

Affairs of the Church and Secretaries for
Relations with States[edit]
Tenure Incumbent Notes

7 February 1953 – Antonio Samorè appointed prefect of Sacred

26 June 1967 Congregation for Sacramental
Discipline
15 August 1967 – 28
April 1979
Agostino Casaroli appointed Pro-Secretary of State

4 May 1979 – 1 appointed Prefect of the

March 1988
Achille Silvestrini Apostolic Signatura

appointed Pro-Secretary of State

1 March 1986 – 1 to His Holiness, later
December 1990
Angelo Sodano became Dean of the College of
Cardinals

appointed Archivist of the Holy

Roman Church, later became
1 December 1990 – President of the Pontifical
6 October 2003
Jean-Louis Tauran Council for Interreligious
Dialogue, and Chamberlain of
the Holy Roman Church

appointed President of the

7 October 2003 – 15
September 2006
Giovanni Lajolo Pontifical Commission for
Vatican City State

15 September 2006 – appointed Prefect of the

8 November 2014
Dominique Mamberti Apostolic Signatura

8 November 2014-
present
Paul Richard Gallagher

List of Undersecretaries for Relations with

States[edit]
Tenure Incumbent Notes

1989 – 1 December Jean-Louis Tauran appointed Secretary of Relations

1990 with States

appointed Secretary
1992 – 16 December
1995
Claudio Maria Celli the Administration of the
Patrimony of the Apostolic See
 appointed Permanent Observer
16 December 1995 –
30 October 2002
Celestino Migliore of the Holy See to the United
Nations

appointed nuncio to Venezuela,

30 October 2002 –
17 August 2009
Pietro Parolin later became Cardinal Secretary
of State

17 August 2009 – 22
February 2013
Ettore Balestrero appointed nuncio to Colombia

22 February 2013 –
3 September 2019
Antoine Camilleri appointed nuncio to Ethiopia

24 October 2019 -
present
Mirosław Stanisław Wachowski incumbent

References[edit]
1. ^ Jump up to:a b Profile of the Secretariat of State
2. ^ Canon 263 of the 1917 Code of Canon Law
3. ^ Canon 255 of the 1917 Code of Canon Law
4. ^ Apostolic Constitution Pastor bonus, Secretariat of State

External links[edit]
• History of the Secretariat of State
• Congregation for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs at
Catholic-hierarchy.org

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