O estatuto da cúria romana e a diplomacia vaticana: um retrato, de João Paulo II a Francisco (1978-2015)

Abstract

This monograph analyses the set of the “Roman Curia Constitution and the Vatican Diplomacy: A Portray, from John Paul II to Francis (1978-2015)”, aiming to elucidate if the pontificate of Francis represents a break with previous pontificates with respect the manner of conducing the foreign affairs of the Holy See. The Catholic Church has been an distinct actor of the international relations whose history and diplomatic actions, however, don’t appear to be familiar to the biggest part of the world. Hence, this monograph is structured to explore the issue guiding the reader to a discover of the Vatican and its main being reason: the Catholic Church. On the first chapter, we promote the debate on the nature of the Vatican City State and present those elements which qualify it as a full-State using the General Theory of State. Furthermore, the Realist Theory is employed in order to exploit the probable hidden interests that may lie under the internacional action of the Vatican diplomacy. The Constructivism tries to consider the act as a product of repeated interactions that build the identities and even the interests of States. Notwithstanding the complexity of the Roman Curia, the second chapter is conduced to deal with the Laws which establish the rules and the principles of the Roman Curia: The Apostolic Constitution Pastor Bonus, the General Constitution of the Roman Curia, the Canonic Law that offer a combination of práxis and theory, internal and foreign policy of the Catholic Church. The last chapter intent to summarize a panorama of the Papal diplomacy, explaining the period since John Paul II (1978-2005), going by Bento XVI (2005-2013) and, finally, until Francis (2013-2015).