Something worrisome, however, has popped up in the Italian news section of the BBC. The Vatican has done something quite interesting and reversed the statutes of the Lateran Treaties - from now on, the Vatican - as a nation - will no longer automatically pass Italian law. What I find disturbing is not the Vatican's actions, however, but the sheer lack of coverage this is getting in the mainstream media (I myself only found it when specifically searching for Italian news.)
The implications of this are momentous. This is not only a subtle dig at the inefficiency of the Italian bureaucratic system, nor is this a sheer act of reactionary defensiveness against the possibility of Italy legalizing gay marriage or euthanasia, which the Vatican state would have been required to do as well under the old accords. Rather, this is the Vatican - the sovereign state, as opposed to the Church - asserting its political as well as ideological independence from Italy at large.
Does this herald the return of the Borgias or Medicis of powerful popes using their office for political purposes? Most unfortunately for aspiring Michelangelos and Raphaels, it does not. But it is a powerful act - one that asserts that the Vatican is more than the Church, it is a sovereign state in its own right, and one that is unafraid to challenge the status quo if need be. It requires discussion, debate. Sadly enough, the coverage of this story has been meager at best, and seems to be limited to a summary judgement that "the Church wants to prevent gay marriage."
This is so much more than that.
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This lovely matter was discussed in L'Osservatore after Christmas [there was an article here on Reuters about it, as well].
This is actually something that I thought we'd see a bit sooner from the Vatican [Pius IX must be groaning from Beyond, heh]. I don't, however, think that it will change much in the way of business as usual for the Vatican. The Church and the city-state have functioned--on the surface--as separate entities for over eighty years; but, in essence, the only difference was the matter of being subject to Italian laws. Technically, even the city-state continued to scrutinize said laws before adopting them--so there was always a catch, it seems.
To be blunt, I would have to agree with the Church that the Italian government is a mess. It would be terrific if the State used this somewhat alarming situation as an impetus for cleaning itself up! Still, I do think that matters such gay marriage/right to life/et cetera certainly figure into this decision. That's going to become a very big problem if the Vatican stands by its latest declaration of autonomy, no question.
But, on the whole? This is right in line with Benedict XVI's highly traditional personal philosophy, as well as with the conservative aims of his pontificate. Perhaps it's also reflective of his secret desire to see the Church reclaim true sovereignty...? Hm, troubling.
Odd - I get the Chiesa feed sent to my mailbox. Looks like my feed-reader wasn't working too well.
Oh, I don't deny that gay marriage is part of the issue - but I think it's symptomatic of a greater whole: a desire for autonomy from an increasingly secular secular-world.
The Church reclaiming true sovereignty? Can't say I'd mind.
To my knowledge, Chiesa.com hasn't issued any articles on the topic...? I read about it in L'Osservatore Romano.
You were right that it didn't get a lot of press outside of Italy. It seems that the media is [mistakenly] viewing the matter as an issue of political posturing. In several Roman newspapers, the reporters seem to be suggesting that the Vatican is simply acting out preemptively, grandstanding even, so as to sway governmental policy. I don't know how much truth there is to that notion [though no doubt there is at least some veracity to the claim]; but, I think that they're wrong to assume that it's all just for show.
In any case, it should be interesting to see how it eventually plays out.
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