Editing Holy See (section)

=== Diplomacy ===
{{main|Foreign relations of the Holy See}}
{{further|Diplomatic missions of the Holy See|Holy See and the United Nations|Multilateral foreign policy of the Holy See}}

[[File:Holy See relations.svg|thumb|upright=2.25|Foreign relations with the Holy See: {{legend|#008000|Diplomatic relations}}
{{legend|#00ff00|Other relations}}
{{legend|#999999|No relations}}]]

Since [[medieval]] times the episcopal see of Rome has been recognized as a sovereign entity. The Holy See (not the State of Vatican City) maintains formal diplomatic relations with and for the most recent establishment of diplomatic relations with {{Numrec|Holy See|N=3|link=N}} sovereign states,<ref name="DipRel" /> and also with the [[European Union]], and the [[Sovereign Military Order of Malta]], as well as having relations of a special character with the [[Palestine Liberation Organization]];<ref>[https://www.vatican.va/news_services/press/documentazione/documents/corpo-diplomatico_index_en.html#top Bilateral and Multilateral Relations of the Holy See] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101012105106/https://www.vatican.va/news_services/press/documentazione/documents/corpo-diplomatico_index_en.html |date=12 October 2010 }}. The Vatican. (31 May 2007). Retrieved 11 September 2011.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zenit.org/article-34102?l=english |title=179 states have full diplomatic relations with the Holy See |publisher=[[Zenit News Agency]] |date=11 January 2012 |access-date=20 January 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120116144434/http://www.zenit.org/article-34102?l=english |archive-date = 16 January 2012}}</ref> 69 of the diplomatic missions accredited to the Holy See are situated in Rome. The Holy See maintains 180 permanent diplomatic missions abroad, of which 74 are non-residential, so that many of its 106 concrete missions are accredited to two or more countries or international organizations. The diplomatic activities of the Holy See are directed by the [[Secretariat of State (Vatican)|Secretariat of State]] (headed by the [[Cardinal Secretary of State]]), through the Section for Relations with States. There are 12 internationally recognized states with which the Holy See does not have relations.{{NoteTag|[[Afghanistan]], [[Bhutan]], [[Brunei]], [[Comoros]], [[Laos]], the [[Maldives]], [[North Korea]], the [[China–Holy See relations|People's Republic of China]], [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Somalia]], [[Tuvalu]] and [[Holy See–Vietnam relations|Vietnam]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/162301?eng=y |title=Mission Impossible: Eject the Holy See from the United Nations |website=chiesa: News, analysis, and documents on the Catholic Church, by Sandro Magister |date=21 August 2007 |access-date=3 October 2007 |archive-date=22 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722051730/http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/162301?eng=y |url-status=live }}</ref>}} The Holy See is the only European subject of international law that has diplomatic relations with the government of the [[Taiwan|Republic of China (Taiwan)]] as representing China,<ref>[https://www.vatican.va/news_services/press/documentazione/documents/corpo-diplomatico/corpo-diplomatico_stati_elenco_en.html Holy See Press Office: "Bilateral and Multilateral Relations of the Holy See"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140906041527/https://www.vatican.va/news_services/press/documentazione/documents/corpo-diplomatico/corpo-diplomatico_stati_elenco_en.html |date=6 September 2014 }}</ref><ref>''[[Annuario Pontificio]] 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2013, {{ISBN|978-88-209-9070-1}}), pp. 1307 (Rappresentanze Pontificie) and 1338 (Corpo Diplomatico presso la Santa Sede)</ref> rather than the government of the [[China|People's Republic of China]] (see [[Holy See–Taiwan relations]]).

The British [[Foreign and Commonwealth Office]] speaks of [[Vatican City]] as the "capital" of the Holy See, although it compares the legal personality of the Holy See to that of [[the Crown]] in Christian monarchies and declares that the Holy See and the state of Vatican City are two international identities. It also distinguishes between the employees of the Holy See (2,750 working in the [[Roman Curia]] with another 333 working in the Holy See's diplomatic missions abroad) and the 1,909 employees of the Vatican City State.<ref name="fco" /> The [[List of ambassadors of the United Kingdom to the Holy See|British Ambassador to the Holy See]] uses more precise language, saying that the Holy See "is not the same as the Vatican City State. ... (It) is the universal government of the Catholic Church and ''operates from'' the Vatican City State."<ref>[http://www.sces.uk.com/articles/ambassadors-address-on-uk-holy-see-relations.html Ambassador's Address on UK-Holy See Relations] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110513225154/http://www.sces.uk.com/articles/ambassadors-address-on-uk-holy-see-relations.html |date=13 May 2011 }} (emphasis added)</ref> This agrees exactly with the expression used by the website of the United States Department of State, in giving information on both the Holy See and the Vatican City State: it too says that the Holy See "operates from the Vatican City State".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Holy See |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3819.htm |access-date=26 July 2022 |website=U.S. Department of State |archive-date=19 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210319202807/https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3819.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Holy See is a member of various international organizations and groups including the [[International Atomic Energy Agency]] (IAEA), [[International Telecommunication Union]], the [[Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe]] (OSCE), the [[Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons]] (OPCW) and the [[United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees]] (UNHCR). The Holy See is also a permanent [[observer status|observer]] in various international organizations, including the [[United Nations General Assembly]], the [[Council of Europe]], [[UNESCO]] (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), the [[World Trade Organization]] (WTO), and the [[Food and Agriculture Organization]] (FAO).