History Of The Vatican

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Recommended: Brief paragraph about women in modern politics

Armando Sapien
Eric Stephenson
ENG 122 – 05B
8 May 2014
Title
The Vatican is an independent, land-locked religious city-state located near the Western coast of central Italy. It officially became a country in 1939 as a result of the Lateran Treaty. Only about 300 people live in the tiny walled city, making up about half of the official population. The foremost citizen of the Vatican is the Pope, a religious and governmental leader who has great political sway and control over large undisclosed amounts of wealth. In addition, the group of Cardinals who elected the Pope also lives within the city. The remaining citizens that live within the tiny walled city are members of the Swiss Guard, a group of mercenaries who protect the Pope. Only about half of the official population lives within the city; the rest serve the Vatican as official representatives in foreign countries.
Because of the nature of Catholicism, almost all of these people are men. There are a few women in the Swiss Guard, but the prerequisites are difficult to fulfill if you are a women. The official electrician and the official gardener of the Vatican each are allowed to have families, (and they are some of the only people inside the walls of the Vatican who are not celibate) but the women have little to no authority in these situations. In fact, there is only one woman in the Vatican who had any sort of power at all! This wonderful Lady, Sister Enrica Rosanna, served as an under-secretary to an important organization during the reign of Pope John Paul II, a more liberal Pope who pushed for major reforms in the Catholic Church.
In order to analyze further what this means, her biography will need to be told. Sister Rosanna grew up in the Church in Turin, an importa...

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... begin with).
She helps illustrate a very important issue in the Catholic Church. Women have begun to populate positions within the Church, but none have broken through a “Glass Ceiling,” that keeps them from entering positions of power. The Church has long been Male Dominated for a number of reasons, not allowing women into teaching positions or positions of authority. She is the first non-ordained person to have power and jurisdiction within Vatican city. She also exemplifies a cultural shift that started with John Paul II, ended briefly with Pope Benedict XVI, and was restarted by the newest Pope, Francis. This cultural shift is probably tied to feminism…

Works Cited
Rosanna, Enrica. Interview with John L. Allen, Jr. Interview with Sr. Enrica Rosanna. 2004
Rosanna, Enrica. “The Contribution of the Female Genius.” Interview with Gianni Cardinale.
2007.

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