Vatican City is located in Rome. It is the smallest state in the world and is the center of the Catholic Church. It is a walled enclave within the city of Rome and is an independent sovereign state. The Vatican City covers an area of approximately 44 hectares, making it one of the smallest states in the world by both land area and population. The Vatican City is home to some of the most important sacred sites in Christianity, including St. Peter’s Basilica, The Sistine Chapel, and The Vatican Museums.
Yearbook 2012
Vatican City. In February, church leaders from across the Catholic world gathered for a four-day meeting at the Vatican to prevent pedophilia within the church. Participants included bishops from 100 countries and leaders of 33 order societies.
The Pope has begun to tweet. Once a day during Easter (40 days starting February 22), Pope Benedict XVI tweeted on @ Pope2YouVatican. His first tweet was: “Let’s pay attention to one another and encourage one another to love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24).”
The Vatican’s website was hacked in March by hacker group Anonymous. The site could not be accessed for several hours. The reason for the attack was stated to be the atrocity of the Roman Catholic Church during the course of history – i.a. murder of heretics, sex scandals and the condemnation of contraceptives and abortions.
In March, the Pope visited, among other things. Cuba and had a meeting with the country’s former leader Fidel Castro. The Pope participated in a fair at the Revolution Square in Havana with over 300,000 participants.
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The Pope’s butler was arrested in May on suspicion of interfering in a noteworthy case – called “VatiLeaks” – involving extensive corruption and slanderous policies. The butler, Paolo Gabriele, must have leaked secret documents from Benedict XVI ‘s private office. In a trial in the fall, he was sentenced to 18 months in prison. In December, Benedict XVI approached Paolo Gabriele. He personally went to the butler in prison to give him the message.
During 2013, Frans repeatedly criticized capitalism for its greed and destruction of the environment. The criticism eventually led right-wing North American radio commentator Rush Limbaugh to characterize the pope as a Marxist.
The pope announced in May 2014 that he would visit victims of sexual abuse on the part of Catholic paternity. He also stated that he would pursue a zero-tolerance policy against sexual abuse committed by church members. That same month he visited Jordan, Palestine and Israel. In Israel, the authorities had ordered 15 right-wing Jewish activists to stay away after a series of violent attacks on Christian churches and houses. Christians in both Palestine and Israel are victims of government and right-wing abuse.
A few weeks into Israel’s war on Gaza in July / August 2014, the Pope sent a strong appeal to halt the killings. By then, Israel had already killed 1060 Palestinians – almost all civilians – while the Palestinians had killed 43 Israelis – almost all soldiers. The appeal had no effect. Israel murdered another 1100 Palestinians before the bloodshed stopped. In May 2015, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas visited the Vatican. It subsequently announced – to Israel’s great regret – that it recognized Palestine as a state.
Population 2012
According to countryaah, the population of Vatican City in 2012 was 692, ranking number 235 in the world. The population growth rate was 0.230% yearly, and the population density was 0.0000 people per km2.
Languages
Vatican City is a sovereign state located within Rome, Italy. The official language of Vatican City is Italian, as it is the language spoken by the majority of its citizens. Latin is also an official language, as it has been used in the Roman Catholic Church for centuries. English and French are also widely spoken, due to their use in diplomatic relations and tourism. German, Spanish, and Portuguese are also spoken by some citizens