Orders, decorations, and medals of the Holy See recognition from the Roman Catholic Church, the Holy See's Secretariat of State issued a statement clarifying that "other than its own Equestrian Orders... the Holy See recognises and supports only the Sovereign Military Order of Malta... and the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre". All other self-styled chivalric orders, the statement continued, "whether of recent origin or mediaeval foundation, are not recognised by the Holy See" and "the Holy See does not guarantee their historical or juridical legitimacy, their ends or organisational structures... to prevent the continuation of abuses which may result in harm to people of good faith, the
Protectorate of the Holy See Protectorate of the Holy See At the San Remo conference (19-26 April 1920), the Mandate for Palestine was allocated to Great Britain. France required the continuation of its religious protectorate in Palestine but Italy and Great Britain opposed it. France lost the religious protectorate, but, thanks to the Holy See, continued to enjoy liturgical honors in Mandatory Palestine until 1924, when the honors were abolished. The precise boundaries of all territories, including that of the British Mandate for Palestine, were left unspecified, to "be determined by the Principal Allied Powers". During that time, the British were in control of Palestine