Twenty Years after Portuguese Concordat

A Re-reading of the Concordat in the Light of the Principle of Cooperation

Abstract

The aim of this article is to analyze the Concordat between Por­tugal and the Holy See, signed twenty years ago. After providing a general overview of current Portuguese eccle­siastical law and the status of religious confessions, the article will delve into a comprehensive analysis of the Con­cordat’s text, establishing a clear frame­work of the Catholic Church in the Por­tuguese Republic. The analysis will then focus on the principle of cooperation between Church and State and present how this has been applied in Portugal since the ratification of the Concordat. Finally, the article will offer a compara­tive view on the use of the same prin­ciple in concordats with countries that were once part of the Portuguese Colo­nial Empire.