Title: Vatican City Politics, government, and taxation, Information about Politics, government, and taxation in Vatican City
Headings: Vatican City - Politics, government, and taxation
Vatican City - Politics, government, and taxation
Content: Vatican City Politics, government, and taxation, Information about Politics, government, and taxation in Vatican City
Vatican City - Politics, government, and taxation
The Holy See is a monarchical-sacerdotal state, which is to say that it  operates as a monarchy in which the Pope is the "king"  (monarchical), with senior members of the church hierarchy, appointed by  the Pope, as the governing body (sacerdotal). The Pope himself is  elected from candidates worldwide by 120 members of the College of  Cardinals and is the chief of state as well as head of the Church. Appointed to office for life (the Polish cardinal, Karol Wojtila, became  Pope John Paul II in 1978 and was still on the throne in 2001), the Pope  has supreme executive, legislative, and judicial power over both the  State of the Vatican City and the universal Roman Catholic Church. Given  the wide scope of the Pontiff's authority, an intricate and  complex structure of official agencies has been established to  administer power within carefully designed categories. This structure is  commonly known as the Roman Curia and its members are appointed and  granted authority by the Pope. The Holy See is recognized under international law and enters into  certain international agreements, but, strictly speaking, it is not a  civil state operating under civil laws, but an absolute monarchy in  control of the Roman Catholic Church, ruling according to the Apostolic  Constitution of 1967. It is as the Holy See rather than the State of the  Vatican that the country sends and receives diplomatic representatives  to and from around the world. The head of government, generally a  cardinal or archbishop whose appointment and authority is conferred by  the Pope, is the secretary of state. He presides over the Pontifical  Commission, or cabinet. The legal system governing church matters is  founded in canon, or ecclesiastical, law but judicial matters outside  the Church are dealt with by the Italian judiciary in Rome.