Holy See–United Kingdom relations
Holy See–United Kingdom relations are foreign relations between the Holy See and the United Kingdom.
The Holy See maintains an Apostolic nunciature in London, and the United Kingdom has an Embassy in the Vatican City. The current Nuncio in London is Claudio Gugerotti, and the British Ambassador is Chris Trott.
Holy See |
United Kingdom |
---|---|
Diplomatic mission | |
Apostolic Nunciature to the Court of St. James's | British Embassy to the Holy See |
Envoy | |
Apostolic Nuncio Claudio Gugerotti | Ambassador Chris Trott |
History
This section needs additional citations for verification. (June 2018) |
Early relations
In circa 595,
In 1209, Pope Innocent III put the Kingdom of England under interdict amidst rising disputes with John, King of England, after he refused to accept Stephen Langton, the papal candidate for Archbishop of Canterbury. The dispute was resolved in 1213 when John conceded power to the Pope by becoming his vassal and agreed to pay feudal taxes to the Catholic Church.
In 1479,
In 1621, the English court despatched George Gage to the Papal court in order to obtain permission for
In 1686, King
Unofficial relations were formed again during the
After the UK's formation
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland came into existence in 1801 with the union of the Kingdom of Ireland to Great Britain, which had been formed by the union of the Kingdoms of Scotland and England in 1707. With the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921, all of Ireland became an independent dominion. Northern Ireland exercised its right under that treaty to separate from the remainder of Ireland and maintain the union with Great Britain, which created the current state of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
The Holy See is the pre-eminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church and recognised in international law as a sovereign entity with which diplomatic relations can be maintained.
Due to the continuity of the Holy See from early times, it is possible to see that the various parts of the United Kingdom had relations with the Holy See prior to their incorporation within the Union (and in Ireland's case, following it - see
Following the
20th century
The United Kingdom did not re-establish relations with the Holy See until December 1914, following the outbreak of the First World War, as the British government was apprehensive about possible growing German and Austrian influence over Vatican policies. The first envoy selected was Henry Howard, a British Catholic, who was followed by the 7th Count de Salis. In order to maintain that this diplomatic mission was temporary in nature, it was titled "Special Mission to the Vatican". Only in 1923 was the mission's title changed to "His Majesty's Legation to the Holy See".
In May 1949,
The problem of Northern Ireland has been a major issue in British-Vatican relations, and during the 1970s the Holy See expressed its hopes for a speedy and just solution on the issue. On 1 June 1974, Pope Paul VI called on all armed factions to take part in peace talks:[5]
We earnestly beg that all violence should cease, from whatever side it may come, for it is contrary to the law of God and to a Christian and civilized way of life; that, in response to the common Christian conscience and the voice of reason, a climate of mutual trust and dialogue be reestablished in justice and charity; that the real and deep-seated causes of social unrest – which are not to be reduced to differences of a religious nature – be identified and eliminated.
The Holy See also supported the British efforts at bringing to an end to racial segregation in Rhodesia (present day
Recent developments
Full relations were recognised in 1982 when
On 9 September 2011, Ambassador Nigel Marcus Baker presented his credentials to Pope Benedict XVI. In his speech, the British Ambassador presented three main goals of Vatican-UK relations, namely facing existential threats such as climate change and nuclear proliferation, promoting interfaith dialogue to achieve peace and working to reduce world poverty.[8]
The UK Embassy to the Holy See is co-located with the UK Embassy to the Republic of Italy at Via XX Settembre in Rome, following the 2006 closure of the rented building that had served as the UK's Embassy to the Holy See. Some in the Vatican protested the co-location of the UK's embassies, complaining that senior officials of the Holy See should not be required to visit the UK embassy to Italy, a country with which the Holy See has an entirely different and at times fractious relationship.[9]
The Holy See's Nunciature to Great Britain is the diplomatic post of the Holy See whose representative is called the
State visits
The
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, while visiting Italian President Giorgio Napolitano in Rome, had an informal visit with Pope Francis on 3 April 2014. It was her seventh encounter with a pope and the fifth different pope she met.[13]
List of British Royal visits to the Vatican
- 29 April 1903 – King Edward VII meets Pope Leo XIII
- 1918 – Edward, Prince of Wales meets Pope Benedict XV
- 1923 – King George V and Queen Mary meet Pope Pius XI
- 10 May 1949 – Princess Margaret meets Pope Pius XII
- 13 April 1951 – Princess Elizabeth and the Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburghmeet the Pope Pius XII
- 23 April 1959 – Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret meet the Pope John XXIII
- 5 May 1961 – Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh pay an Official Visit to the Vatican City, calling on Pope John XXIII.
- 17 October 1980 – Queen Elizabeth II, with Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, pays her first State Visit to the Holy See and meets Pope John Paul II
- 1982 – Pastoral Visit of Pope John Paul II in Scotland
- 29 August 1985 – Charles, Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales meet Pope John Paul II
- 9 December 1985 – Prince and Princess Michael of Kent meet Pope John Paul II
- 10 April 1990 – Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh meets Pope John Paul II
- 3 November 1994 – Katharine, Duchess of Kent meets Pope John Paul II
- 17 October 2000 – Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh meet Pope John Paul II
- 2005 – Charles, Prince of Wales attends the funeral of Pope John Paul II
- 27 April 2009 – Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall meet Pope Benedict XVI
- 16 September 2010 – State visit of Pope Benedict XVI in Scotland.
- 3 April 2014 – Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh meet Pope Francis
- 27 April 2014 – Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester and Brigitte, Duchess of Gloucester meet Pope Francis on the occasion of canonisation of Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II[14]
- 4 April 2017 – Charles, Prince of Wales meets Pope Francis
- 13 April 2019 – Charles, Prince of Wales meets Pope Francis on the occasion of canonisation of Cardinal John Henry Newman
See also
- Apostolic Nunciature to Great Britain
- List of Ambassadors from the United Kingdom to the Holy See
- Foreign relations of the Holy See
- Roman Catholicism in Scotland
- Roman Catholicism in Ireland
- Roman Catholicism in the United Kingdom
- Roman Catholicism in England and Wales
- Italy–United Kingdom relations (covering the present territory of the former Papal States)
References
- ^ Kunz, "The Status of the Holy See in International Law" 46 American Journal of International Law (1952) pp. 309-313.
- ^ "Pastor Bonus; Section II". The Holy See. Archived from the original on 23 February 2001. Retrieved 20 September 2010.
- ^ "CATHOLIC LIBRARY: Saepe Nos (1888)". Retrieved 17 April 2017.
- ^ "Princess has brief visit with Pope". Chicago Tribune. 28 May 1949.
- ^ "Message for the peace in Ireland, 1 June 1974 - Paul VI". Retrieved 17 April 2017.
- ^ "All'Inviato Straordinario e Ministro Plenipotenziario di Gran Bretagna presso la Santa Sede in occasione della presentazione delle Lettere Credenziali (22 maggio 1980) - Giovanni Paolo II". Retrieved 17 April 2017.
- ^ "To Queen Elizabeth II of England (17 October 1980) - John Paul II". Retrieved 17 April 2017.
- ^ "Speech by British Ambassador to the Holy See Nigel Marcus Baker to Pope Benedict XVI on the presentation of Credentials". Archived from the original on 24 July 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
- ^ Owen, Richard (9 January 2006). "Britain sparks row with Vatican over proposal to close embassy". The Times. London.
- ^ "Charles and Camilla meet the Pope". BBC News. 27 April 2009. Retrieved 27 April 2009.
- ^ "Los Angeles Times: Archives - Pope Appeals for Unity of 2 Faiths in Scotland". Retrieved 17 April 2017.
- ^ "SUNBURN AND SONGS: THE MEMORIES OF BELLAHOUSTON THE PAPAL VISIT TO SCOTLAND It was summer, 1982, and Pope John Paul II was in Scotland. His mass at Glasgow's Bellahouston park touched thousands". Retrieved 17 April 2017.
- ^ "News". Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
- ^ "Members of the Royal Family take part in Canonisation Mass". GOV.UK. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
- Additional sources
- Thomas E. Hachey (ed.), Anglo–Vatican Relations 1914–1939: Confidential Annual Reports of the British Ministers to the Holy See (Boston, 1972)