A bill introduced in Congress last week would exempt popes with U.S. citizenship from federal tax obligations, and prevent their citizenship from being revoked during their tenure as supreme pontiff.
The bill, the Holy Sovereignty Protection Act (H.R. 4501) was introduced July 18 by Republican Congressman Jeff Hurd of Colorado.
It comes amid concern at the Holy See over possible legal complications stemming from the election of Leo XIV as the first American pope.
Hurd, a first-term congressman representing the 3rd district of Colorado, said in a July 18 statement that, “this legislation recognizes the extraordinary nature of the papacy—a role at the intersection of faith, leadership, and global responsibility.”
“The election of Pope Leo XIV marks a historic moment not only for the Catholic Church but for America,” the congressman’s statement said.
If passed, the bill would protect the citizenship of any American pope, and would exempt him from having to pay taxes or file tax returns for the United States during his reign.
“This legislation ensures that any American who answers the call to lead more than a billion Catholics worldwide can do so without risking his citizenship or facing unnecessary tax burdens,” the statement said.
The bill comes two months after the election of then-Cardinal Robert Prevost as Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope.
A native of Chicago, at the time of his election Prevost held dual citizenship in both the United States and in Peru, where he served as a missionary priest and bishop for nearly 20 years. Prevost obtained Peruvian citizenship in 2015.
After Pope Leo XIV’s election, questions began circulating in the Vatican about whether the pope’s U.S. citizenship could present a unique set of challenges during his pontificate, and some officials have privately floated the idea of Leo renouncing his U.S. passport.
The Pillar reported that shortly after Pope Leo’s election, senior officials in the Vatican’s Secretariat of State were concerned with the pope’s obligation to file U.S. tax returns and disclose income and assets, which could be held to include Vatican funds under control of the papal office.
Hurd’s bill would prevent Leo from any required financial disclosures to the IRS.
It would also prevent explicitly an American pope from seeing his citizenship revoked during his time in office.
From the perspective of the U.S. government, becoming a foreign head of state does not automatically result in the loss of U.S. citizenship — though it could.
The U.S. State Department says that it may “actively review cases in which a U.S. national is elected or otherwise appointed to serve as a foreign head of state, foreign head of government, or foreign minister.
Such cases raise complex questions of international law, including issues related to the level of immunity from U.S. jurisdiction that the person so serving may be afforded.”
In May, The Pillar asked the U.S. State Department whether it intends to review Pope Leo’s citizenship.
A State Department spokesperson said the department does not comment on the citizenship status of individuals.
The most pressing concerns within the Vatican regarding the pontiff’s dual citizenship are taxes and potential civil liability.
All U.S. citizens are required to file annual tax returns and financial disclosures with the Internal Revenue Service and their income is subject to taxation — wherever in the world it is derived.
It is unknown whether the pope will take a formal salary; the office formally comes with a modest stipend, though it is legally unclear whether this is equivalent to a salary for tax purposes — and the three previous popes declined to take it.
But some at the Vatican have raised concern that the IRS could consider to fall under reporting requirements all official funds linked to the Petrine office, like Peter’s Pence, or other personal discretionary accounts for papal expenses and charitable priorities.
The exact extent to which the federal government could demand intrusive accounting of papal, Vatican, and Church finances is something which would have to be litigated in U.S. courts and would likely depend on IRS policy, though the passage of Hurd’s bill would render those questions moot.
In Rome, there is also potential concern over Pope Leo’s U.S. citizenship regarding questions of liability, and whether sovereign immunity would apply to Pope Leo in civil cases filed against the Catholic Church in U.S. courts.
For decades, plaintiffs have sought to name the Vatican as a respondent in civil suits, citing the Holy See’s ultimate and often direct responsibility for hearing and handling cases of alleged clerical abuse and other issues.
While the Holy See’s sovereign status in international law has provided an effective shield of legal immunity in American civil cases thus far, Vatican officials have expressed concern over potential complications arising from Pope Leo’s American citizenship, which could see “Robert Prevost” cited personally as a respondent in cases.
In U.S. law, long-arm statutes in many states allow for non-resident individuals to be named in lawsuits.
While this has not proven to be effective at piercing sovereign immunity in attempts to name foreign-born popes or the Vatican as a foreign government, it is not clear that the same result could be expected if “Robert Prevost,” the American citizen, were named as a respondent.
Should such an attempt be made, it would likely be subject to lengthy litigation and appeal, even if many American legal experts consider it unlikely to ultimately succeed.
A spokesman for Hurd told The Pillar that the bill would not protect the pope against any civil lawsuits.
Six other Republicans co-sponsored the bill, Rep. Mike Kelly (PA), Rep. Stephanie Bice (OK), Rep. Glenn Grothman (WI), Rep. Michael Lawler (NY), Rep. Brian Jack (GA), and Rep. Charles Fleischmann (TN). Four of whom — Kelly, Bice, Lawler and Fleischmann — are Catholic.