[calex59]

"It is an insult to all San Franciscans when a foreign country, like the Vatican, meddles with and attempts to negatively influence this great city's existing and established customs and traditions, such as the right of same-sex couples to adopt and care for children in need."

Since when is the Vatican a country? Must have happened while I was sleeping.

[Brytani]

Vatican City is it's own state.
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/vt.html

Not sticking up for SF just clarifying the issue for you.

[Scotswife]

"Since when is the Vatican a country? Must have happened while I was sleeping."

Vatican City is considered to be an autonomous nation-state.

[dufekin]

The Vatican (the successor to the Papal States) came into existence because the Popes of Rome grew quite rich and held much land, occupied by their temporal vassals. The Donation of Sutri in 728 put the Papal States irrevocably on the map; however, the tradition of Papal supremacy over his land holdings dates to the 500s.

The Vatican today, although technically a nation-state, occupies only the Pontifical compound and has no real lay population.

[muawiyah]

It's a country ~ the Pope is a head of state.

This arises out of the Italian political situation ~ used to be the Pope ran most of Northern Italy. Then, after a whole lot of history, Garibaldi, Buongiovanni and others held a successful revolution that merged the Kingdom of Piedmont, the Papal States, and other segments of then then politically fragmented Italian peninsula, together with Sicilia, and created a unified Italy (with a king, later deposed and replaced by a Republic with a dictator).

The Revolutionaries carved Vatican City out of Italy and set it up as its own little country.

[MarkL]

Since when is the Vatican a country? Must have happened while I was sleeping.

Actually, Vatican City IS a recognized "country," or at least a "City/State" with it's own military (The Swiss Guard) and postal system.

Mark

[A Ruckus of Dogs]

Since when is the Vatican a country?

It actually is. The State of Vatican City is a sovereign state within Italy and the smallest country in the world. They have their own currency, their own citizenship, and their own passports. It has observer status at the UN. I think it actually can vote, but it refuses to.