[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 21 (Wednesday, March 1, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1031-S1032]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 87--COMMENDING THE HOLY SEE FOR MAKING
SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS TO INTERNATIONAL PEACE AND HUMAN RIGHTS, AND
OBJECTING TO EFFORTS TO EXPEL THE HOLY SEE FROM THE UNITED NATIONS BY
REMOVING THE HOLY SEE'S PERMANENT OBSERVER STATUS IN THE UNITED
NATIONS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
Mr. SMITH of New Hampshire (for himself, Mr. Santorum, Mr. Helms, Ms.
Landrieu, Mr. Stevens, Mr. Ashcroft, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. McCain, Mr.
Coverdell, and Mr. Brownback) submitted the following concurrent
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
S. Con. Res. 87
Whereas the Holy See is the governing authority of the
sovereign State of Vatican City;
Whereas the Holy See has an internationally recognized
legal personality, which allows it to enter into treaties as
the juridical equal of a state and to send and receive
diplomatic representatives;
Whereas the diplomatic history of the Holy See began over
1,600 years ago, during the 4th century A.D., and the Holy
See currently has formal diplomatic relations with 169
nations, including the United States, and maintains 179
permanent diplomatic missions abroad;
Whereas, although the Holy See was an active participant in
a wide range of United Nations activities since 1946, and was
eligible to become a member state of the United Nations, it
chose instead to become a nonmember state with Permanent
Observer status over 36 years ago, in 1964;
Whereas, unlike other geographically small countries such
as Monaco, Nauru, San Marino, and Liechtenstein, the Holy See
does not possess a vote in the General Assembly of the United
Nations;
Whereas, according to a July 1998 assessment by the United
States Department of State, ``(t)he United States values the
Holy See's significant contributions to international peace
and human rights'';
Whereas during the past year, certain organizations that
oppose the views of the Holy See regarding abortion and the
sanctity of human life have initiated an organized effort to
pressure the United Nations to remove the Permanent Observer
status of the Holy See; and
Whereas the removal of the Holy See's Permanent Observer
status would constitute an expulsion of the Holy See from the
United Nations as a state participant: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives
concurring), That Congress
(1) commends the Holy See for its unique contributions to a
thoughtful and robust dialogue in issues of international
concern during its 36 years as a Permanent Observer at the
United Nations;
(2) strongly objects to any effort to expel the Holy See
from the United Nations as a state participant by removing
its status as a nonmember state Permanent Observer;
(3) believes that any degradation of the status accorded to
the Holy See at the United Nations would seriously damage the
credibility of the United Nations by demonstrating that its
rules of participation are manipulable for ideological
reasons rather than being rooted in neutral principles and
objective facts of sovereignty; and
(4) contends that any degradation of the status of the Holy
See will damage relations between the United States and the
United Nations.
Mr. SMITH of New Hampshire. Mr. President, I rise for the purpose of
submitting a Senate concurrent resolution objecting to any efforts to
expel or degrade the Holy See's current status as a nonmember permanent
observer to the United Nations. It is hard to believe there are people
in the world--indeed, in our own country--who wish to take away that
status.
Throughout my tenure in the Senate and the House, I have worked to
uphold the sovereignty of the United States, perhaps as much as anyone
in the body. Recently, it has come to my attention that the sovereignty
of the Holy See, the institution that represents the State of the
Vatican City internationally, is being attacked by up to 400
nongovernmental organizations in a movement called ``See Change.'' That
is S-e-e.
See Change is comprised of extremist groups, pro-choice groups, some
extreme environmental organizations, and antireligious, atheist groups
who want to take away this permanent status of the Holy See.
Specifically, the agenda of See Change is to pressure U.N. Secretary
General Annan into revoking the Holy See's nonmember Permanent Observer
status by attacking its status as the legal and diplomatic body that
represents the sovereign country of the State of the Vatican City.
What an outrage. See Change believes it can use the smokescreen of
the Holy See's unique sovereignty to silence its undisputed legal
rights as a sovereign entity to voice its views on the sanctity of
human life at the U.N. That is what this is about. It is about an
attack on the sanctity of human life. It is an attack on the Pope for
his views on the sanctity of human life.
Since the U.N. rules by the consensus of all members, See Change is
attempting to pressure and intimidate the Holy See, the Secretary
General, and other member countries of the U.N. to silence any
opposition to what really is a pro-abortion agenda.
Currently, the Holy See is recognized by almost every nation in the
world. Furthermore, the Holy See has sent and received diplomats since
the 4th century and has possessed a permanent diplomatic mission since
the 15th century.
As I stated before, a central argument that these nongovernmental
organizations use is the issue of the Holy See's legally recognized
authority to represent the citizens of Vatican City and the worldwide
Catholic Church.
According to international law, sovereignty in its simplest form can
be defined by a people, territorial entity, and a government with
institutions that are recognized by the international community of
nations. Without any doubt--since the 4th century--the Holy See acts as
the legal and internationally recognized body that represents the
people of Vatican City and Catholics around the world. The Holy See
meets all those criteria. The Vatican State has a population of
approximately 900 citizens, has a defined territory, and has
institutions of government.
The sovereignty issue was irrefutably settled in 1929, when the Holy
See and Italy signed and ratified the Lateran Treaty, which brought the
Vatican City State into existence. Article 12 of this treaty states:
Diplomatic relations with the Holy See are governed by the
rules of International Law.
All states have equal standing under international law. I believe the
Senate needs to send a strong, positive message to reaffirm the concept
of state sovereignty. If we cannot do that in this body, then I do not
know what we can do. I would like to remind Secretary General Kofi
Annan about his duty to uphold the principle the United Nations
considers most important in its charter--the legal equality of nations,
which is Article 2(1).
Furthermore, this legal principle says all states are not similar in
their
[[Page S1032]]
characteristics. For example, China contains about one-quarter of the
human race while the State of the Vatican City contains a little fewer
than 1,000 citizens.
Moreover, this Nation, the United States, is exponentially larger in
physical size and political stature than, say, Bangladesh; however,
both nations have equal status under international law.
Frances Kissling, president of Catholics for a Free Choice, said the
Holy See sitting at the U.N. was like ``Euro-Disney sitting on the
Security Council.'' Can you imagine? Surely, any person, American or
not, would recoil at the irreverence of this statement and the
ignorance, frankly, of the invaluable work the Holy See has undertaken
to foster peace between fellow nations.
Highly respected U.N. leaders, such as Dag Hammarskjold, have, in
fact, recognized the unique sovereign status of the State of the
Vatican City and insisted on the presence of the Holy See at the U.N.
In addition, U.N. Secretary General U Thant attempted to establish an
increased stability of relations between the Holy See and the U.N.
Catholics for a Free Choice--I use that term loosely--a leading
organization in the movement to remove the Holy See from the U.N., has
set forth the following statement in their own web site:
What place does a religious body--claiming to possess the
universal ``objective truth'' and speak infallibly on moral
matters--have in an intergovernmental institution like the
United Nations?
I would like to point out that above the doors of the U.S. House
Chamber are the reliefs of great lawmakers who had a profound impact on
the moral and legal origins of this Nation. The most important lawmaker
is Moses; his relief is placed higher, in the center of the Chamber,
facing the Chair.
Why didn't anyone question the sovereignty of the Soviet Union and
its Politburo, with the Communist ideology that it espoused, and the
manner in which it imposed its will upon the satellite states of
Eastern Europe under its control? I did not hear any criticism of them.
Should theocracies, such as Iran or even Israel, be threatened in the
same manner if some extremist organization, opposed to their religious
and social views, came forth?
The elected head of the Catholic Church, Pope John Paul II, has
recently made trips to Cuba and Angola, where he was received by
multitudes, millions of people, supporting his message of peace, the
rule of law, and freedom represented by the Catholic Church and,
indeed, by many other citizens, as well.
I am proud to say, in submitting this resolution, that as original
cosponsors I have Senators Coverdell, Santorum, Landrieu, Helms,
Ashcroft, Inhofe, McCain, Stevens, and Brownback. A bipartisan group
has become original cosponsors. I urge my colleagues, in the name of
what is right, to join with us in sponsoring this legislation.
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