Vatican celebrates 75th anniversary as city-state

Published: 2004-02-11

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Vatican celebrated its 75th birthday as a city-state and said its independent status allowed the church a clearer moral voice on international issues of peace, justice and development. The Feb. 11 anniversary was celebrated as a holiday at the Vatican. It marked the signing of the Lateran Pacts of 1929, a treaty and other agreements under which the Vatican recognized the Italian state and Italy recognized the pope's absolute sovereignty and independence over the 109-acre Vatican City. The 1929 treaty also compensated the Holy See for the loss of the Papal States with a large payment in cash and bonds. At the same time, a concordat regulated the status of religion and the church in Italy; among other things, it declared Catholicism the official religion -- a provision revoked under a revised concordat in 1984. Pope John Paul II, speaking at a general audience, said the Lateran Pacts had marked a decisive and positive turning point in Italian church-state relations, opening the way to a "profitable cooperation that serves and benefits the whole population."

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