December 31, 1983

President Reagan is expected to establish full diplomatic relations with the Vatican and ''in all likelihood'' send a representative there with the rank of ambassador, an Administration official said today. The official said Mr. Reagan would announce the move in mid-January. William A. Wilson, who now serves at the Vatican as the President's personal representative, would probably be the ambassador, Administration officials have said. The President's action was made possible by Congressional passage in November of a law that repealed the 1867 ban on the use of Federal funds to maintain a diplomatic mission to the Vatican. Since then, the Administration has been in touch with Vatican officials on steps to upgrade diplomatic representation.

On the day before the San Francisco 49ers' divisional playoff game against the Detroit Lions, the New Jersey Generals announced today that they had signed two of the 49ers' veteran linebackers, Willie Harper and Bobby Leopold, for the United States Football League season that begins Feb. 26. Harper confirmed his signing before practice here today but regretted its timing. Leopold had no comment. Bill Walsh, the coach of the 49ers, deflected questions about possible distractions and said, ''It's best for me not to remark about it. I'd much rather talk about the playoff game.''

A Federal district judge today blocked the Government's plans to give the public access to 1.5 million of the most confidential documents that were in the White House when President Nixon resigned in 1974. Public release of the documents could theoretically have begun this Tuesday under regulations issued by the General Services Administration. But Judge Thomas F. Hogan held the regulations were invalid because they had been promulgated under a 1974 law that authorized either house of Congress to veto them. Move by 29 Nixon Aides This section of the Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act of 1974 was unconstitutional, Judge Hogan said, under the Supreme Court's sweeping decision last June striking down all such ''legislative veto'' provisions.

The New York Times today publishes an interview with Senator Ernest F. Hollings, another in a series of interviews with candidates for the Presidency. In the interview Senator Hollings made these major points: Economy - Federal deficits must be cut to encourage private investment and re-employment of workers.

Studies of the black family, enough to fill the shelves of a good-size library, focus almost entirely on women. In much of history and sociology, black men, particularly from the ranks of the poor, are ignored. Now, as sociologists, civil rights leaders and government planners focus on the tremendous growth in the number of households headed by black women, nearly 50 percent of all black families, more attention is being paid to the plight of poor black men. Most authorities, and indeed the men themselves, say that unemployment, continuing lags in education and opportunities, chronic illness, racism and jail have left many black men unable to be responsible heads of households. Finding themselves unable to fulfill the traditional male role of provider, many have taken off, leaving the women to raise their children alone, often in poverty. Most experts agree that the causes are complex, and they believe the plight of black men and the increase in poor families headed by women, if unchecked, could be devastating for future generations.