Thursday, March 22, 2007

The Smallest Independent Nation in the World: The Vatican

The concept of the Vatican baffles many people. While being located inside another country, it still acts as an entirely separate nation. It his home to the people who make up the head of the Catholic Church, known collectively as the Holy See. The Holy See acts as an actual government over the region, and even has political relations with many countries from around the world. If you want to understand what goes on at the Vatican, read on and find out about some of its duties as a country and as head of the church.

The Vatican is located in Rome, and is completely landlocked by the nation of Italy. This puts it in a very strange position, and many people fail to see how it could possibly be an independent country. The Vatican is truly interesting, as it offers all of the features of a full country, including the oldest army in the world. It features a railway station, bank, supermarkets, and everything else the inhabitants could possibly ask for. Despite being the head of the Catholic Church, the Vatican has the largest per-capita crime rate in the world. This is quite interesting, and attributed to the fact that so many tourists come through.

The Vatican and the Holy See do not act as a traditional government. However, they have many things that they do which reflect normal governments. This includes foreign relations with other countries, and a complex diplomacy that goes on between the Vatican and many other countries. The international relations performed by the Vatican involve not only keeping up diplomatic relations, but also allowing for the interests of the Catholic Church to be brought in to play through implementation of its many programs that provide aid for those in need of it.

The Vatican is a difficult thing to grasp if you have not been familiar with it for a while. It is open for visitors, so if you ever want to see it for yourself then you can definitely do that, and possibly get a better idea for what goes on there. If you want to understand more about the Vatican without visiting it, you can find a lot on its official site at www.vatican.va.

The Pope: Understanding What Exactly His Job Is

Many misconceptions surround the pope and what exactly his duties are. The pope is the head of the Catholic Church, and also acts as a political figure as the head of state of the Vatican city. He is meant to act as the main spokesperson of the Catholic Church, and maintain relations with the rest of the world, both religious and political. He also has many other duties that must be attended to on a day to day basis. A new pope is elected whenever the old one dies. The candidates are chosen based on the higher figures in the church, and are elected through the use of a ballot system.

The pope himself is the leader not only of the Catholic Church, but of the Vatican. The Vatican is the home of the highest rulers in the papacy, and is the smallest independent nation in the world. It handles many foreign affair issues, and in the past it has done its best to provide peace and aid to the rest of the world. The pope acts as the diplomat for this small nation, and he does everything he can to promote the ideals of the Catholic Church on a worldwide basis.

The pope is also involved in many religious issues, and investigates problems within the actual church. If there are disputes between members of churches, the pope will act as an arbitrator or send his advice down the line. He also had been known to inspect religious claims, such as those that a miracle occurred. He will determine whether the event was really a miracle, or whether someone is just trying to get attention. As a deeply religious man, he consults God for all issues, and it is said that he has a deeper level of communication with God than most people do.

If you would like to learn more about the day to day life of the pope, you should borrow a book from the library which will provide you with further readings. His role in the political and religious world is very complicated, and is almost impossible to sum up in just a few paragraphs. Therefore, it is recommended that you pursue the topic more and find out about the more interesting details of the pope.

The Role of the Papacy Within the Catholic Church

The Papacy refers to the Holy See of Rome. It is headed by the Pope, and is essentially the central head of the Roman Catholic Church. The Holy See acts not only to guide the Catholic Church as a whole, but also to work in the world as much as possible. It is involved with many international organizations with the ultimate goal of bettering humanity. It also has diplomatic relations between countries all over the world. To understand what all the papacy does, read on for some of the main activities.

The papacy refers to the pope and all of the Catholic Church’s highest officials who work and live within the Vatican City. They all work together as a sort of religious think tank (note that this is a very simplified way to explain them, and probably should not be quoted). They work in the world to encourage peace between nations and to provide aid to countries that need it.

The papacy also acts as a sort of overseer to the Catholic Church in its entirety. As various debates or issues are brought to the table, the papacy does its best to make situations better and to improve the catholic church overall. It takes care of disputes within individual churches, or between multiple churches. These include issues of authority, or criminal charges leveled against church authorities.

The papacy is also involved in many projects designed to improve the world overall, providing aid to the poor and hungry. It has many funds that are constantly being poured into causes designed to make the world a better place, particularly for those less fortunate than the average person. In general, it makes attempts to spread the ideals of Catholicism around the world, and show a model for members of the Catholic Church.

Overall, the papacy is very diligent in its efforts to keep peace not only within the Catholic Church, but also in the world as a whole. It maintains many foreign relations and often acts as a mediator between multiple countries, in an effort to keep relations strong between the Vatican and the countries of the world, as well as between completely separate countries.

What to See In Rome

If you are planning a visit to Rome, the capital of Italy, any time in the near future, you should probably compile a list of things you would like to do while you are there. When you arrive in a huge city with no idea of where you want to go or what you want to do, you will often be disappointed once you leave. If you have every day planned out, you won’t be inclined to waste the precious time that you are spending there. So here you will read some of the most attractive aspects of Rome, and hopefully come up with a few that you would like to visit.

One thing that you should definitely see in Rome is the Vatican City. It is a small city of only 555 residents, and is also the smallest country in the world. It acts as the government that is head of the Catholic Church. When you go to visit, you will be amazed by how much it is like a miniature version of a regular country. You can also visit the Sistine Chapel and many other artistic areas, and see some of the most amazing pieces of art that exist in the world today.

The Coliseum in Rome is another one of those things that you can’t leave without having visited. It is one of the most beautiful historical architectures of all time, and will leave you really thinking about the history of humanity. It was built almost 2000 years ago, and is still in remarkably good shape for how ridiculously old it is. It is most famous for holding gladiator fights for public entertainment, as well as many other shows, contests, and games that went on for almost 500 years. It has been used for so many things since being built, and is an attraction in Rome that you will not want to pass up.

In Rome, there are so many evidences of early Roman architecture that are truly amazing to look upon. You can see things that are thousands and thousands of years old, but are still regarded as structural accomplishments by architects today. If you want to go on a tour and see some of the most interesting buildings and structures in Rome, you can find many tour guides that tell you exactly where to go.

The Story of Pope John Paul II

John Paul II was one of the most celebrated popes of his time. He was born in 1920 in Poland, and grew up in rough conditions. He joined the underground seminary when he was 22, and was ordained a priest within 4 years. He studied theology and earned two doctorates, and was elected the papacy after John Paul I died (who had only been the pope for 31 days before dying in suspicious conditions). He died on April 2nd, 2005, and you probably remember this even if you aren’t Catholic. His death caused mourning around the world, from followers and non-followers.

During his time spent as the pope, John Paul II was one of the most interesting and charismatic popes ever to enter the position. He was well-known for being fit and physically active when he first started at the age of 58. During all his free time, he could be found lifting weights, swimming, and jogging. One famous story of him tells of the Vatican officials being disturbed by the fact that he was jogging in sight of tourists who were visiting St. Peter’s Basilica. His famed response was simple: So what?

An assassination attempt almost took the life of John Paul II in 1981. A Turkish gunman shot him as he was speaking in St. Peter’s Square. He ended up being rushed to the hospital barely holding onto consciousness, and was hospitalized for some time before he recovered. The gunman was caught and thrown in prison for life. In one of the more mysterious stories surrounding Join Paul II, he visited the would-be murderer in his cell. They talked alone for 20 minutes, during which nobody but the two of them knew what was happening. After he was done, the Pope officially pardoned the man. Nobody knows what the two talked about. Another assassination attempt was thwarted in Portugal, when a man tried to stab him with a bayonet.

The pope John Paul II lived a full and interesting life, and was one of the most celebrated popes of all time. When he died, the entire world grieved. He was the recipient of one of the largest memorial services in the history of the world, and with good reason. He was a charismatic man, and loved universally by Catholics and non-Catholics alike.