Vatican City - Future trends

Despite the importance of the papacy to the Catholic Church and its role in international affairs, the Holy See's internal workings are little known to Catholics, to world leaders, or to the public at large. The Vatican Bank was the focus of several major financial scandals during the late 1970s and early 1980s, and while much effort has gone into repairing the damage to its reputation, the Vatican may well have to address public disquiet at its secrecy.

The question of who succeeds Pope John Paul II must, as with any papal succession, lend uncertainty to the Vatican since each successive pope rules according to his own principles. Perhaps the major cause for concern, therefore, is whether the papacy learns to adapt far more radically than it has done in the past to the huge changes in society at large. Increasingly, modern-day Catholics are finding the Church stance on issues such as birth control repressive, and if the Church is to retain the loyalty of its billion followers, it will have to modernize certain of its practices.