Timing Of "Apology" For Past Deeds, Maneuvering At European Union Raise Questions Over Holy See's Participation

new campaign is being launched by religious and antiabortion groups from around the world to support the Vatican's special and influential status at the United Nations. The move follows an effort initiated by the group Catholics for a Free Choice, which has gathered over 400 signatures from organizations that want a review of the Holy See's claim as a sovereign government warranting special U.N. membership.

   Although it has no vote, the Vatican takes an active, even aggressive stance at the United Nations in debates and international conferences. This has allowed the church to have a considerable impact on questions involving sex education, family planning and abortion issues.

   Last year, Catholics for a Free choice announced that it was seeking a full review of the Vatican's unique status, and challenged the papacy's claim that it was a "state." CFC President Francis Kissling has suggested that the Vatican should instead be treated as a non-governmental organization (NGO) comparable to other private groups and religious sects.

   The issue is now attracting vocal supporters on all sides, and has spilled over to the U.S. Congress. Both the House and Senate are expected to debate official resolutions which have been introduced in support of the Vatican's special standing at the international body. Observers also note that the question of the Holy See's status reflects the contentious debate over church-state separation in America, and the role that sectarian religion is playing in the year 2000 election campaigns and related issues like the selection of a new Chaplain for the House of Representatives.

   Indeed, the Holy See -- the papal "government" -- enjoys a unique U.N. status. It is the only religious group provided this special standing; other denominational or ecumenical groups, such as the World Council of Churches, are treated as NGOs. The Vatican's participation in important international conferences and decision making processes has worried critics, especially those dealing with women's rights and population issues.

   "We have all seen the Holy See misuse a status that it obtained within the U.N. to some extent by accident," Kissling told Associated Press earlier this week. She added that her group's campaign -- dubbed "See Change" -- was not a threat "to any legitimate state that sits in the U.N. that may hold positions that we disagree with."

BACKGROUND: THE VATICAN AS POLITICAL STATE, RELIGIOUS SECT

   Some insist that more than the Vatican's U.N. status needs to be examined, though. American critics are uncomfortable with having the Roman Catholic Church recognized as an official government entity which enjoys diplomatic status. During the Reagan era, the Holy See was upgraded by the State Department, and is now considered a diplomatic mission. No other religious sect or group enjoys that privilege.

   Both sides in the debate over the Holy See's U.N. status admit that abortion rights is the major point of contention. Squaring off against Kissling are groups like the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute. Austin Ruse, president of the organization, told Associated Press that the effort to undermine the Vatican's standing at the international body clearly touched on the abortion controversy. Ruse added that a counter-petition in support of the Holy See has attracted signatures from over 1000 organizations, including American religious conservative groups like the Focus on the Family, Concerned Women for America and the Family Research Council.

   This creates an unusual alliance between supporters of the Catholic church and Protestant evangelicals who support Ruse's campaign in order to keep a strong antiabortion presence in the United Nations.

   On Capitol Hill, anti-choice and pro-Vatican lawmakers have introduced official resolutions supporting the Holy See's status at the United Nations.

   In the Senate, S. Con Res. 87 -- "Commending the Holy See for making significant contributions to international peace and human rights, and objecting to efforts to expel the Holy See from the United Nations..." -- was introduced on March 1 by Sens. Smith of New Hampshire, Santorum, Helms, Landrieu, Stevens, Ashcroft, Inhofe, Coverdell and John McCain of Arizona. McCain's recent effort to win the Republican nomination race against Texas Gov. George W. Bush played upon religious themes, including a "Catholic voter alert" criticizing Bush's appearance at Bob Jones University.

   S. Con. Res. 87 "commends the Holy See for its unique contributions to a thoughtful and robust dialogue in issues of international concern during its 36 years as a Permanent Observer at the United Nations," and "strongly objects to any effort to expel the Holy See" from that lofty position.

   It also "contends that any degradation of the status of the Holy See will damage relations between the United States and the United Nations."

   On March 9, the resolution was placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar.

   At the other end of the hill, H. Con. Res. 253 contains almost identical wording. The measure was introduced on February 16 by Reps. Smith (N.J.), Hyde, Armey, Barcia, Delay, Hayworth, John, Pitts, Ros-Lehtinen, Ryan, Sherwood and Tancredo. It, too, "strongly objects" to any change in the Vatican's U.N. status, and also threatens that such changes "would seriously damage the credibility of the United Nations by demonstrating that its rules of participation are manipulatable for ideological reasons rather than being rooted in neutral principles and objective facts of sovereignty..."

   Smith's resolution is currently in the House Committee on International Relations.

   The controversy over the Vatican's U.S. standing comes amidst a well-publicized "apology" for past transgressions issued last Sunday amidst the pomp and ceremony of a mass held at St. Peters in Rome. The Pope and several key Cardinals all asked for "forgiveness" over the church's persecution of women, Jews and other groups. We note, however, that the Holy See's mea culpa comes at a time when the Vatican is deeply involved in a number of global events.

   ¶    Since the "fall of the wall" and the disintegration of the former Soviet Union and its client states, European leaders have been working to achieve some form of political and economic unity. We have noted that in a number of countries, especially Poland, the Roman Catholic Churche sought to supplant the moribund Communist Party as a source of cultura, political and ideological leadership. This effort has included attempts to seize control of educational institutions, limit freedom of the press, roll back any advancement on abortion rights and other population control measures, and in the process position the Roman Catholic Church against its new perceived threat -- global consumerism.

   ¶    This has also involved recasting the Vatican as a movement working for "tolerance, peace and international solidarity." Making sure that they stand a chance of becoming part of any "new Europe," church officials were in Gniezno, Poland last week for a gathering which brought together a number of heads of state from central and Eastern Europe. Poland's influential Catholic Church cosponsored the meeting, along with Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski. Leaders from Germany, Hungary, Slovakia and Lithuania attended, and the gathering issued a joint declaration confirming "our deep attachment to the common roots of European civilization."

   Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Angelo Sodano and regional church leaders hosted a special "ecumenical mass" for the politicians and dignitaries.

   The meeting commemorated the Gniezno Congress of the year 1000 -- a high-water point for Catholic influence throughout Europe. Prelates and government leaders then ventured for a ceremony at the grave of St. Adalbert (1000?-1072), German ecclesiastic and Archbishop of Hamburg who is now being promoted as the ideological godfather of a unified European super-state under the auspices of the church.

   Despite the historical inaccuracy, in 1997 the presidents of the seven central and eastern European nations joined Pope John Paul in a similar ceremony at Adalbert's grave, ostensibly commemorating the 1,000 year anniversary of the evangelist's death.

   The historical overtones of this latest gathering in Gniezno, Poland must not be minimized. Archbishop Henryk Muszynski told the dignitaries that their efforts, while "directed toward the future," must also take stock of past lessons. At the end of the first Christian millennium, Poland and other nations in the region were looking to the German Emperor Otto III, who was working to expand the church's influence under the "new" Roman Empire further to the North. The Vatican was clearly signaling a message at this latest Gniezno meeting -- it intends to be a major player in any political configuration which emerges in eastern Europe, and the rest of the European Union.

   ¶    Closer to home, the squabble over the Vatican's U.N. status comes as religion plays a major role in the American electoral campaign. Candidates in both parties are working hard to court the "Catholic vote." In the Republican contests, most Protestant evangelicals and fundamentalists stood solidly behind Texas Gov. George W. Bush, while Catholics -- warned away for Bush's appearance at Bob Jones University -- embraced Sen. McCain. With McCain now out, religious right and GOP strategists must find a way to corral more Roman Catholics into the Bush campaign. Pundits identify the Catholic vote as a "swing" factor in the November election.

   ¶    There is also the debate over who will be the next official chaplain for the U.S. House of Representatives. When House Speaker Dennis Hastert announced his selection of Rev. Charles Parker Wright, a Protestant, Democrats and the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights seized on the opportunity, and charged that this appointment reflected "anti-Catholic" bias, and was a bone to the GOP's religious right fringe. That squabble continues. House Republicans quickly recovered the initiative on this issue, awarding the prestigious Congressional Gold Medal to New York Roman Catholic Cardinal John O'Connor, and issued a perfunctory resolution on behalf of "Catholic Schools Week." Vocal defense of the Holy See's status at the United Nations may help to mend more bridges to Catholic voters.

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