election of the Roman Pontiff (Praedicate Evangelium, Article 18). Secretariat Secretariat of State The Secretariat of State is the oldest dicastery in the Roman Curia, the government of the Roman Catholic Church. As the Papal Secretariat, it closely assists the Roman Pontiff in the exercise of his supreme mission. It comprises three sections: the Section for General Affairs, under the direction of the Substitute, with the assistance of the Assessor; the Section for Relations with States and International Organizations, under the direction of its Secretary, with the assistance of the Undersecretary and an Undersecretary for the multilateral sector; the Section for the Diplomatic Staff of the Holy See, under the direction of the Secretary for Papal Representations, with the assistance of an Undersecretary. The current Secretary of the State is Pietro Cardinal Parolin. Section for General Affairs The Section for General Affairs is responsible for dealing with the following matters concerning the daily service of the Roman Pontiff: to examine those matters which is necessary to deal with matters outside the ordinary competence of the Curial Institutions and other bodies of the Apostolic See, and to foster coordination among these Dicasteries and other bodies and offices without prejudice to their autonomy. It is responsible to carry out everything that concerns the Representatives of States at the Holy See. The current Substitute for General Affairs is Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra. Section for Relations with States and International Organizations The task of the Section for Relations with States and International Organizations is to attend to the affairs that must be dealt with the respective civil authorities. It is responsible for the following: to handle the diplomatic and political relations of the Holy See with States and with other subjects of international law and to deal with common affairs for the promotion of the good of the Church and of civil society, also through the stipulation of concordats and other international agreements, taking into account the opinion of the Episcopal bodies concerned; to represent the Holy See at international intergovernmental organizations, as well as at multilateral intergovernmental conferences, availing himself, if necessary, of the collaboration of the competent Dicasteries and bodies of the Roman Curia; and to grant the nulla osta whenever a Dicastery or Body of the Roman Curia intends to publish a statement or document pertaining to international relations or relations with civil authorities. The current Secretary for Relations with States