Land Policy of the Holy See.

This article will not be an apologia pro vita sua of the Church in any of its forms nor a triumphalistic account of any great accomplishment in the field of land policy. Human history unfolds and develops in a gradual fashion. What people now consider as against natural law was at one time accepted as a legitimate form of ownership. A number of the signers of the U.S. Declaration of Independence had slaves on their estates. Evidently the world all around has not been and is not all on New York Daylight Saving Time. So also the Holy See and Catholic Church have not originated, developed and existed in a cultural vacuum. Native customs in newly discovered lands, Byzantine influence, Roman law, city-states, republics, war times, scientific discoveries, etc., are but the backdrops and wings for the Church's drama on the world's stage. Land grants by kings and princes or republics to the Church or other units for educational purposes or as rewards for soldiering or as capital to promote development have been very common in history. Land grant colleges, grants to railroad, veterans' homesteading, Zamindar privilege are but a few examples. Because of its continuity, the Church at times amassed very large properties whereas the other beneficiaries broke up. However, periodic confiscations were the great levelers.