Vatican

The flag of Vatican City.

The **Vatican** (バチカン, *Bachikan*), also known as **Vatican City** (バチカン市国) and also referred simply as "**the Church**", is a sovereign city-state located within a walled enclave in the city of Rome, Italy. It is the central base of the Roman Catholic Church, the administration of which is also referred to as the Vatican. The name of the city/state comes from the Vatican Hill on which it is built.

The Vatican also seems to be centralized as an organization, and has various sections and divisions with different tasks in connection with religion. It is the hidden side of the Roman Catholic Church that specializes in the hunting and elimination of those who pose a threat to the children of God.

## History

Origins of the city begin with the death of Saint Peter, one of the twelve apostles of the Son of God. According to Orsola Aquinas' theories, St. Peter himself intended the date and the place of his death (execution), taking into consideration what would happen several hundred years later after his death. The Croce di Pietro which was prepared even before St. Peter's death, was erected on St. Peter's grave on the June the 29th (the date would be the only time the artifact could be activated in the Vatican) some time after his death, it was the first time the cross has been activated. From then on the Vatican come to existence and flourished soon afterwards due to the effects of the artifact.

The Vatican as it is known today was established when the Lateran Treaty was ratified by the Kingdom of Italy and the Holy See in 1929, formally establishing the sovereignty of Vatican City under the name Vatican City State.

## Government and Politics

The Pope is the head of state, as well as the ruler of the Holy See, that is, the government of the Church whose influence extends far outside the city's walls. It also has a government staffed by clerics, the Roman Curia.

The Holy See is not a member of the United Nations, but has Permanent Observer status. Remarkably, this situation is the result of the Church's sense of honor: since the UN holds freedom and democracy as one of its highest values, and the Vatican is neither free nor democratic (as it is technically an absolute monarchy and all its inhabitants are either clergy or **Swiss Guards** (スイス人衛兵) oath-bound to obey the Pope), it declines full membership out of honesty. This isn't to say that the Church is opposed to freedom or democracy, but that the Vatican works best as it is.

## Activities

The primary goals of the Roman Catholic Church churches spread throughout the world are to preach the love of God and help the sick and poor, but the side of the organization known as the Church specializes in the elimination of heresy. Those who insult God, kill people, mislead the public, and twist the very laws of nature by occult means fall under the umbrella of “heretics” and are targets for the Church’s forces.

The‌ members of the Church‌ ‌share‌ ‌a‌ ‌common‌ ‌ideology.‌ ‌The‌ ‌singular bond of faith puts the Church above‌ ‌the constant ‌infighting‌ ‌and‌ ‌atmosphere of mutual‌ ‌distrust‌ found in the‌ ‌Association.‌ ‌While ‌Church’s‌ ‌members‌ disagree on and ‌debate‌ ‌their‌ differing ‌interpretations‌ ‌of‌ ‌doctrine,‌ ‌this amounts to nothing more than reasonable discussions on how to become better people.

The Church holds a great level of animosity towards Devils and Fallen Angels. There is no great reason for specifically hunting them down with such fervency other than that they are groups who desecrates God's teachings and are considered to be heretics. While a non-aggression pact was signed between the Three Factions after the Great War, the Church still remains hostile to most Devils and Fallen Angels to the point where small skirmishes cannot be avoided. After the Treaty of Kuoh was signed during the Three Factions Summit members of the Church are no longer allowed to harm any Devil or Fallen Angel, much to the dismay of their most fervent followers.

## Subdivisions

### Iscariot Organization

The **Iscariot Organization** (イスカリオテ機関, *Isukariote Kikan*) is a subdivision within the Vatican that is operated by the Roman Catholic Church. It is a top-secret section of the Vatican's operations, and officially, it doesn't exist. Named after Judas Iscariot, the apostle who betrayed Jesus Christ, Iscariot is charged with the active pursuit and extermination of all things vile and unholy. They consist of Exorcists who are considered to be the best of the best.

### Exorcists

An **Exorcist** (エクソシスト, *Ekusoshisuto*) is a member of the Church that are tasked with killing Devils, Fallen Angels, Vampires and other demonic creatures that can potentially harm Humans. Despite their namesake, they are not charged with the purpose of demon exorcism but rather have the task of eliminating heretical beings.