Thrown and alter

As a prelude to an examination of the latest inquiry by a United Nations committee into the Catholic Church child sexual abuse scandal of recent decades, The Economist provides this background.

"Popes and their officials have long benefited from the Vatican’s unique dual status in international law. As the Vatican City State, it can shelter prelates wanted for questioning elsewhere and play host to offshore financial institutions such as the Vatican Bank. But when world leaders visit the pope in Rome it is to meet the absolute ruler of a global entity, the Holy See. As the Holy See, the Vatican engages in diplomacy, holds observer status at the UN and signs most treaties. The Holy See is sometimes called a sovereign entity without territory, although its sovereign, the pope, is also the ruler of the Vatican City State."

Here are the Wikipedia entries for Vatican City and the Holy See.