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The Vatican and Permanent Neutrality
The essays in this book cover a fast-paced 150 years of Vatican diplomacy, starting from the fall of the Papal States in 1870 to the present day. They trace the transformation of the Vatican from a state like any other to an entity uniquely providing spiritual and moral sustenance in world affairs. In particular, the book details the Holy See’s use of neutrality as a tool and the principal statecraft in its diplomatic portmanteau. This concept of “permanent neutrality,” as codified in the Lateran Treaties of 1929, is a central concept adding to the Vatican's uniqueness and, as a result, the analysis of its policies does not easily fit within standard international relations or foreign policy scholarship. These essays consider in detail the Vatican’s history with “permanent neutrality” and its application in diplomacy toward delicate situations as, for instance, vis a vis Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany, and Imperial Japan, but also in the international relations of the Cold War in debates about nuclear non-proliferation, or outreach toward the third world, including Cuba and Venezuela. The book also considers the ineluctable tension between pastoral teachings and realpolitik, as the church faces a reckoning with its history.
311 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 22, 2022
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About the author
Marshall J. Breger
14 booksMarshall J. Breger is a professor of law at the Columbus School of Law, The Catholic University of America. From 1993-95, he was a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation, Washington, D.C.
During the George H.W. Bush Administration he served as Solicitor of Labor, the chief lawyer of the Labor Department with a staff of over 800. During 1992 by presidential designation he served concurrently as Acting Assistant Secretary for Labor Management Standards.
From 1985-91 Breger was chairman of the Administrative Conference of the United States, an independent federal agency. During 1987-89 he also served as alternate delegate of the U.S. to the U.N. Human Rights Commission in Geneva.
From 1982-84 he served as special assistant to President Reagan and his liaison to the Jewish Community.
In Fall 2002, Breger was Lady Davis Visiting Professor of Law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In Fall 2003 he was Distinguished Sy-Cip Fulbright Lecturer in the Philippines.
Breger is a contributing columnist to Moment magazine. He writes and speaks regularly on legal issues and has published over 25 law review articles in publications including the Stanford Law Review, Boston University Law Review, Duke Law Journal and North Carolina Law Review. He has published as well in periodicals such as the Middle East Quarterly, the National Interest, the Los Angeles Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and the New York Times. He has testified more than 30 times before the United State Congress. His subjects include constitutional law, arbitration, foreign relations law of the United States, and a seminar on the Middle East peace process.
Breger is the author (with Tom Idinopolis) of a monograph, Jerusalem's Holy Places and the Peace Process, (Washington Institute of Near East Policy, 1998). He is the editor (with Ora Ahimeir) of Jerusalem: A City and Its Future (Syracuse University Press, 2002) as well as editor of Public Policy and Social Issues: Jewish Sources and Perspectives (Praeger 2003) and The Vatican-Israel Accord: Legal, Pontifical, and Theological Issues (Notre Dame University Press, 2004)(in press). Together with David M. Gordis, he co-edited Vouchers for School Choice: Challenge or Opportunity? An American Jewish Reappraisal, (Wilstein Institute of Jewish Policy Studies, 1998).
He is Vice-President of of the Jewish Policy Center, a Jewish conservative think-tank.
Professor Breger holds a B.A. and M.A., 1967, from University of Pennsylvania, a B.Phil., 1970, from Oriel College, Oxford University; and a J.D., magna cum laude 1973, from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he was an editor of the law review and a member of the Order of the Coif.
Together with his wife, Jennifer, Professor Breger has two daughters. Sarah Gabriela, managing editor of Moment Magazine, and Esther Maria, an assistant editor with The New Republic. He lives in Silver Spring, Maryland.
During the George H.W. Bush Administration he served as Solicitor of Labor, the chief lawyer of the Labor Department with a staff of over 800. During 1992 by presidential designation he served concurrently as Acting Assistant Secretary for Labor Management Standards.
From 1985-91 Breger was chairman of the Administrative Conference of the United States, an independent federal agency. During 1987-89 he also served as alternate delegate of the U.S. to the U.N. Human Rights Commission in Geneva.
From 1982-84 he served as special assistant to President Reagan and his liaison to the Jewish Community.
In Fall 2002, Breger was Lady Davis Visiting Professor of Law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In Fall 2003 he was Distinguished Sy-Cip Fulbright Lecturer in the Philippines.
Breger is a contributing columnist to Moment magazine. He writes and speaks regularly on legal issues and has published over 25 law review articles in publications including the Stanford Law Review, Boston University Law Review, Duke Law Journal and North Carolina Law Review. He has published as well in periodicals such as the Middle East Quarterly, the National Interest, the Los Angeles Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and the New York Times. He has testified more than 30 times before the United State Congress. His subjects include constitutional law, arbitration, foreign relations law of the United States, and a seminar on the Middle East peace process.
Breger is the author (with Tom Idinopolis) of a monograph, Jerusalem's Holy Places and the Peace Process, (Washington Institute of Near East Policy, 1998). He is the editor (with Ora Ahimeir) of Jerusalem: A City and Its Future (Syracuse University Press, 2002) as well as editor of Public Policy and Social Issues: Jewish Sources and Perspectives (Praeger 2003) and The Vatican-Israel Accord: Legal, Pontifical, and Theological Issues (Notre Dame University Press, 2004)(in press). Together with David M. Gordis, he co-edited Vouchers for School Choice: Challenge or Opportunity? An American Jewish Reappraisal, (Wilstein Institute of Jewish Policy Studies, 1998).
He is Vice-President of of the Jewish Policy Center, a Jewish conservative think-tank.
Professor Breger holds a B.A. and M.A., 1967, from University of Pennsylvania, a B.Phil., 1970, from Oriel College, Oxford University; and a J.D., magna cum laude 1973, from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he was an editor of the law review and a member of the Order of the Coif.
Together with his wife, Jennifer, Professor Breger has two daughters. Sarah Gabriela, managing editor of Moment Magazine, and Esther Maria, an assistant editor with The New Republic. He lives in Silver Spring, Maryland.
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