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Legally distinct from but acting as the international diplomatic entity for the Vatican City State, the Holy See is generally recognised as a sovereign entity with full legal personality and analogous to a State despite lacking a defined territory or permanent population. A member or observer of many international bodies, including UN agencies, it is led by the incumbent Pope and governed by the Roman Curia (the central administrative body), drawn from the senior ranks of the Catholic Church. As the central body of the Catholic Church, the Holy See’s most pressing human rights complaint has been the continuing revelations of child abuse within its religious institutions and the accusations of a concerted effort by church officials to conceal these violations.
