Relationship dossier
Vatican City
Papua New Guinea
Relationship assessment
Diplomatic ties and an agreement on the Catholic Church's legal status underpin relations.
Vatican City toward Papua New Guinea
+15The Holy See concluded a bilateral agreement with Papua New Guinea concerning the legal status of the Catholic Church there. Pope John Paul II's 1984 visit was a prominent engagement with the country.
Papua New Guinea toward Vatican City
+15Papua New Guinea entered into a bilateral agreement with the Holy See concerning the legal status of the Catholic Church in Papua New Guinea. The scope of further government cooperation is unclear.
Overall relationship
+15The relationship includes a substantive bilateral arrangement concerning the Catholic Church's legal status in Papua New Guinea and high-level engagement through the 1984 papal visit. The breadth and continuing implementation of government cooperation are unclear.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
The Holy See and Papua New Guinea have diplomatic relations and a bilateral agreement concerning the legal status of the Catholic Church in Papua New Guinea. Pope John Paul II visited Papua New Guinea in 1984, providing a notable high-level engagement. These ties reflect concrete cooperation, although the scale and ongoing scope of government-to-government collaboration are unclear.
Key developments
Pope John Paul II visited Papua New Guinea.
The Holy See and Papua New Guinea concluded an agreement concerning the legal status of the Catholic Church in Papua New Guinea.
Major uncertainties
- The agreement's detailed provisions and implementation are unclear.
- The extent of continuing government-level cooperation beyond diplomatic relations is unclear.