The British Royals Message Board: Don't ask, don't tell

AFAIK, neither John Paul II, Benedict XVI, nor Francis forfeited their respective citizenships upon becoming pope. The article I read was ambiguous: on the one hand, it stated that one cannot be the sovereign of an independent foreign state while retaining his US citizenship. On the other hand, he supposedly can retain it unless he expressly renounces it.

Thus far, nobody has broached His Holiness about his new position as the head of Vatican City, and its impact on his status in the country of his birth.

In the past, the issue was moot -- since all popes for 455 years were Italians. But Karol Wojtila ended that monopoly in 1978 ...

Previous Message

Did all previous Popes in modern times renounce their existing citizenship upon assuming the papacy? I think not, but I could be wrong. And to answer your question about the U.S. allowing dual citizenship in most everyday cases - yes, it's allowed.

Previous Message

I suspect the new pope's election caught many people on the hop and they're not sure about the legal status of his citizenship. Personally I would be surprised if an independent Head of State such as the Pope could possibly be a citizen or subject of another country. Incidentally there would also be the question of his Peruvian citizenship but doesn't the US forbid dual citizenship in which case he is presumably no longer a US citizen?

Previous Message

Regarding the new Pope's American citizenship - not sure which actual constitutional provision would automatically cancel that? At this point and so many days later, why was that not pointed out by the U.S. Secretary of State or other officials as soon as Leo XIV became Pope?

Previous Message

What if a British Catholic got elected to and accepted the papacy? Could he still remain a legal citizen of the United Kingdom, or would he forfeit his status? If forfeiture was not automatic, would he nevertheless be obliged to renounce his British citizenship?

WOULD it actually be possible to remain a subject of the reigning monarch, while at the same time being the sovereign of a foreign state -- i.e. Vatican City?

The reason for my asking is the sticky legal question that has just risen around the recent papal conclave, where an American cardinal got elected as the supreme pontiff of the Catholic Church. Pope Leo XIV has not forfeited his Peruvian citizenship; but his U.S. citizenship appears to be in jeopardy. Either he has automatically forfeited it or he will be pressured to renounce it.