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| Vatican City State Stato della Città del Vaticano | |
|---|---|
 Flag
 Coat of arms
| |
 | |
| Capital | Vatican City |
| Government | Unitary theocratic absolute monarchy |
• Pope | Pope Francis |
| Area | |
• Total | 0.49 km² |
| Population | |
• 2023 estimate | 764 |
The Vatican City State is a theocratic city-state surrounded by Italy. The state serves as the seat of the Pope, the absolute monarch of the Catholic Church.
History
Papal States
See main article: State of the Church (756–1870)
City State
After Benito Mussolini came to power in Italy, he made Catholicism the state religion, allowing the Vatican to influence education and avoid taxation. During the Second World War, the Vatican funded fascists, and Giovanni Montini worked with the SS and the CIA before he became pope.[1]
In 1982, the Vatican and Spain proposed for the United Nations to celebrate 1992 as the 500th anniversary of the encounter between European and American cultures. African delegates condemned the proposal for celebrating colonialism and genocide.[2]
In 2023, the Vatican renounced the Doctrine of Discovery, which had allowed the settler colonization of indigenous lands in North America.[3]
References
- ↑ Hugo Turner (2019-07-28). "Ratline: the Vatican, the Nazis & the CIA" Anti-Imperialist U. Archived from the original on 2021-03-05. Retrieved 2022-09-11.
- ↑ Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz (2014). An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States: 'The Doctrine of Discovery' (p. 197). [PDF] Boston, Massachusetts: Beacon Press. ISBN 9780807000403
- ↑ Richard Becker (2023-04-02). "Vatican renounces ‘Doctrine of Discovery.’ When will Supreme Court do likewise?" Liberation News. Archived from the original on 2023-04-03. Retrieved 2023-04-06.