The Holy See (Latin: Sancta Sedes, "holy seat") is the government of the Roman Catholic Church and Vatican City, with the Pope as its head. It consists of the Pope and the Roman Curia. It is metonymically called as "the Vatican".
Every episcopal see is seen as holy and the Eastern Orthodox Church calls all of its sees "holy" or "sacred" (ἱερά). "The Holy See" (definite singular) usually refers to the see of Rome, which is also called "the Apostolic See". While "Apostolic See" can refer to any see founded by any of the Apostles, the term is in this case refers to the see of the bishop seen as successor of Saint Peter, one of the Apostles.
Aside from Rome, the archiepiscopalSee of Mainz, which was also of electoral and primatial rank, is the only other Western see that bears the title of "Holy See", although this usage is less common.
The Pope governs the Church and Vatican City through the Holy See. The Holy See consists of a Roman Curia having the Secretariat of State, nine Congregations, three Tribunals, eleven Pontifical Councils, and an assortment of religious and government offices that conduct church and country affairs at the highest level. The Secretariat of State, under the Cardinal Secretary of State, leads and supervises the Curia. The current Secretariat of State, Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone, acts as the Holy See's prime minister. Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, Secretary of the Section for Relations With States of the Secretariat of State acts as the Holy See's foreign minister. Bertone and Mamberti were chosen to hold these positions by Pope Benedict XVI in September 2006.
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
Note: In 1971, the Holy See announced the decision to adhere to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in order to "give its moral support to the principles that form the base of the treaty itself."
The Holy See is also a permanent observer of the following groups:
Note: the Holy See is a permanent observer in the United Nations and, in July 2004, gained all the rights of full membership except voting. According to Archbishop Celestino Migliore, Holy See Permanent Observer, "We have no vote because this is our choice." He added that the Holy See considers that its current status "is a fundamental step that does not close any path for the future. The Holy See has the requirements defined by the UN statute to be a member state and, if in the future it wished to be so, this resolution would not impede it from requesting it."
The Holy See is an observer on an informal basis of the following groups:
The Holy See, not the Vatican City, maintains diplomatic relations with states (such as with the United Kingdom), and participates in international organizations. Foreign embassies are accredited to the Holy See, not to the Vatican City, and it is the Holy See that governs Vatican City and establishes treaties and concordats with other sovereign entities. When necessary, the Holy See will enter a treaty on behalf of the Vatican City.
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