A concordat is an agreement between the Holy See of the Catholic Church and a sovereign state on religious matters. Legally, they are international treaties. They often includes both recognition and privileges for the Catholic Church in a particular country. Privileges might include exemptions from certain legal matters and processes, and issues such as taxation as well as the right of a state to influence the selection of bishops within its territory.
The Council of Constance proclaimed the Concordat to be the regular form of governing relations between the Papacy and foreign kingdoms.
Although for a time after the Second Vatican Council, which ended in 1965, the term 'concordat' was dropped, it reappeared with the Polish Concordat of 1993 and the Portuguese Concordat of 2004. A different model of relations between the Vatican and various states is still evolving (see e.g. Petkoff 2007) in the wake of the Second Vatican Council's Declaration on Religious Liberty, Dignitatis Humanae.
Contents |
Broadly, concordats have been criticized on three grounds: for the allegedly undemocratic way some concordats are brought about, for the financial burdens they may impose and for the alleged incompatibility of some concordat clauses with the norms of human rights.
Further information: Treaties of the Holy See, Multilateral Treaties signed by the Holy See and Concordats with individual states of Germany
The following is a sortable list of the concordats and other bilateral agreements concluded by the Holy See.
| Treaty | Contracting party | Date of conclusion | Date of entering into force |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1107 Concordat of London with Henry I of | England | 1 Aug 1107 | |
| 1122 Concordat of Worms between Pope Calixtus II and Henry V of the | Holy Roman Empire | 23 Sep 1122 | |
| 1277 Concordat of Tonsberg between Jon Raude, Archbishop of Nidaros and Magnus VI of | Norway | 1277 | |
| 1426 Concordat between Pope Martin V and King Charles VII of | France | ||
| Fürsten Konkordat between Pope Eugenius IV and the Princes Electors of the | Holy Roman Empire | Jan 1447 | |
| Concordat of Vienna between the Holy See and Frederick III of the | Holy Roman Empire | 17 Feb 1448 | |
| 1516 Concordat of Bologna between Pope Leo X and King Francis I of | France | Sep 1516 | |
| 1753 Concordat between the Holy See and | Spain | 1753 | |
| 1801 Concordat between Pope Pius VII and Napoléon of | France | 1801 | |
| 1813 Concordat of Fontainebleau between Pope Pius VII and Napoléon of | France | 1813 | |
| 1817 Concordat between the Holy See and | Bavaria | 5 Jun 1817 | |
| 1817 Concordat between the Holy See and | France | 11 Jun 1817 | |
| 1827 Concordat between the Holy See and the | Netherlands | 16 Sep 1827 | |
| 1847 Concordat between the Holy See and | Russia | 3 Aug 1847 | |
| 1851 Concordat[1] between the Holy See and | Spain | 16 Mar 1851 | 11 May 1851 |
| 1855 Concordat between the Holy See (Pope Pius IX) and Emperor Franz Joseph of | Austria | 1855 | |
| 1882 Concordat between the Holy See and | Russia | 23 Dec 1882 | |
| 1886 Concordat between the Holy See and | Portugal | 23 Jun 1886 | |
| 1886 Concordat[2] between the Holy See and | Montenegro | 18 Aug 1886 | |
| 1887 Concordat between the Holy See and | Colombia | 1887 | |
| 1914 Concordat between the Holy See and | Serbia | 24 June 1914 | |
| 1922 Concordat between the Holy See and | Latvia | 30 May 1992 | 3 Nov 1922 |
| 1925 Concordat between the Holy See and | Poland | 10 Feb 1925 | 2 Jul 1925 |
| 1927 Concordat[3] between the Holy See and | Romania | 10 May 1927 | |
| 1927 Concordat between the Holy See and | Lithuania | 27 Sep 1927 | 10 Dec 1927 |
| 1928 Concordat between the Holy See and | Colombia | 5 May 1928 | |
| 1929 Lateran Treaty[4] between the Holy See and | Italy | 11 Feb 1929 | 7 Jun 1929 |
| 1932 Agreement between the Holy See and | Romania | 30 May 1932 | 30 May 1932 |
| 1933 Concordat between the Holy See and | Austria | 5 June 1933 | |
| 1933 Reichskonkordat between the Holy See and | Germany | 20 Jul 1933 | |
| 1940 Concordat between the Holy See and | Portugal | 7 May 1940 | |
| 1941 Agreement between the Holy See and | Spain | 7 Jun 1941 | 7 Jun 1941 |
| 1946 Agreement between the Holy See and | Spain | 16 Jul 1946 | 16 Jul 1946 |
| 1946 Agreement between the Holy See and | Spain | 8 Dec 1946 | 8 Dec 1946 |
| 1950 Agreement between the Holy See and | Spain | 5 Aug 1950 | 13 Nov 1950 |
| 1953 Concordat[5] between the Holy See and | Spain | 27 Aug 1953 | 27 Oct 1953 |
| 1954 Concordat between the Holy See and the | Dominican Republic | 16 Jul 1954 | |
| 1955 Exchange of notes constituting an agreement between the Holy See and | Italy | 16 Dec 1955 | 16 Dec 1955 |
| 1972 Agreement between the Holy See and the | International Atomic Energy Agency | 26 Jun 1972 | 1 Aug 1972 |
| 1973 Concordat between the Holy See and | Colombia | 1973 | |
| 1976 Agreement between the Holy See, the Holy See and | Spain | 28 Jul 1976 | 20 Aug 1976 |
| 1979 1st Agreement between the Holy See and | Spain | 3 Jan 1979 | 4 Dec 1979 |
| 1979 2nd Agreement between the Holy See and | Spain | 3 Jan 1979 | 4 Dec 1979 |
| 1979 3rd Agreement between the Holy See and | Spain | 3 Jan 1979 | 4 Dec 1979 |
| 1979 4th Agreement between the Holy See and | Spain | 3 Jan 1979 | 4 Dec 1979 |
| 1982 Exchange of notes constituting an agreement on the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Holy See and | Sweden | 12 Jul 1982 – 26 Jul 1982 | 2 Aug 1982 |
| 1984 Concordat between the Holy See and | Italy | 18 Feb 1984 | 3 Jun 1985 |
| 1990 Concordat between the Holy See and | Hungary | 1990 | |
| 1993 Fundamental Agreement between the Holy See and | Israel | 30 Dec 1993 | 10 Mar 1994 |
| 1993 Concordat between the Holy See and | Poland | 28 Jul 1993 | |
| 1994 Agreement between the Holy See and | Spain | 21 Dec 1994 | 4 Jul 1995 |
| 1995 Exchange of letters between the Holy See and | Israel | 10 Apr 1995 – 5 Jul 1995 | 5 Oct 1995 |
| 1996 Agreements between the Holy See and | Croatia | 19 Dec 1996 | |
| 1997 Legal Personality Agreement[6] between the Holy See the State of | Israel | 10 Nov 1977 | |
| 1998 Protocol additional to the Agreement between the Holy See and the | International Atomic Energy Agency | 24 Set 1998 | 24 Set 1998 |
| 1998 Agreement on financial questions between the Holy See and | Croatia | 9 Oct 1998 | |
| 1998 Agreement between the Holy See and the Republic of | Estonia | 23 Dec 1998 | 12 Mar 1999 |
| 2000 Agreement between the Holy See and the Republic of | Latvia | 8 Nov 2000 | 25 Oct 2002 |
| 2000 Monetary Agreement between the Vatican City State and, on its behalf, the Holy See, and | Italy, on behalf of the European Community | 29 Dec 2000 | not yet into force |
| 2004 Treaty between the Holy See and | Slovakia | 13 May 2004 | 9 Jul 2004[7] |
| 2004 Concordat between the Holy See and | Portugal | 18 May 2004 | |
| 2006 Exchange of letters constituting an agreement amending the protocol to the Agreement of 26 June 1972 between the Holy See and the | International Atomic Energy Agency | 5–9 Sep 2006 | 11 Sep 2006 |
| 2006 Basic Agreement between the Holy See and | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 19 Apr 2006 | 25 Oct 2007 |
| 2008 Agreement between the Holy See and | France | 18 Dec 2008 | 1 Mar 2009 |
| 2008 Concordat between the Holy See and | Brazil | 13 Nov 2008 | |
| 2009 Concordat between the Holy See and | Schleswig-Holstein | 12 Jan 2009 |
|
||||||||||