Orders, decorations, and medals of the Holy See Orders, decorations, and medals of the Holy See The orders, decorations, and medals of the Holy See include titles, chivalric orders, distinctions and medals honoured by the Holy See, with the Pope as the fount of honour, for deeds and merits of their recipients to the benefit of the Holy See, the Catholic Church, or their respective communities, societies, nations and the world at large. Some of these honours are defunct or currently dormant, while some are still actively conferred. "Papal orders of knighthood" or "Pontifical orders of knighthood" are orders of knighthood bestowed in the name of the Pope
Legal status of the Holy See organization Catholics for Choice has advocated against the participation of the Holy See in multilateral forums. It argues that the Holy See is a religious organization and not a state, and that, therefore, it should have neither a special status in international law nor the right to participate, in a position analogous to that of states, in the international conferences on social, cultural and economic matters. No State has supported this initiative. On the contrary, the United Nations General Assembly confirmed and raised further the status of the Holy See as an observer within the UN, through its Resolution 58/314