|
A concordat is convention between the Holy See and a sovereign state that defines the relationship between the Catholic Church and the state in matters that concern both,〔René Metz, "What is Canon Law?" (New York: Hawthorn Books, 1960 (Edition )), pg. 137〕 i.e. the recognition and privileges of the Catholic Church in a particular country and with secular matters that impact on church interests, 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. The first concordat dates from 1098, and from then to the beginning of the First World War the Holy See signed 74 concordats.〔 Due to the substantial remapping of Europe that took place after the war, new concordats with legal successor states were necessary.〔 The post-World War I era saw the greatest proliferation of concordats in history.〔 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, for example, Petkoff 2007.〕 in the wake of the Second Vatican Council's Declaration on Religious Liberty, ''Dignitatis humanae''. ==Church-State dichotomy == From a Church-State perspective, the contentions regarding Concordats involves two perspectives. From a Catholic perspective, the Church has the moral and theological right to enter into diplomatic relations with states in order to reach agreements regarding the care of its members residing there. This is the concept of ''Libertas ecclesiae'' (freedom of the Church). However, from a non-Catholic perspective, Catholic church privileges pose certain concerns regarding religious freedom, such as: * concordats give to the Church a privileged position that other religious groups are denied (European history in numerous books reveals this fact) * concordats may not be "the same as treaties" because they are entered into by an entity that is BOTH religious and political in nature, viz., the Catholic Church, with exception to states which are expressedly atheist or are identified as choosing anti-religious views, whereas any other treaty is regularly between two sovereign entities on a horizontal level, i.e., purely political in nature,〔Robert A. Graham, "Introduction: Reflections on Vatican Diplomacy," in Kent and Pollard, eds., ''Papal Diplomacy'', 1, 2〕 and * depending on the negotiations agreed upon in the concordat, some religious groups face the threat of being marginalized. For example, in Spain, although the Constitution guarantees religious freedom (theoretically), yet in practice, the Church is mentioned by name and holds a pre-eminent position among other religious groups.〔Andrea Bonime-Blanc, ''Spain’s Transition to Democracy: The Politics of Constitution-making'' (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, Inc., 1987), 104.〕 In recent years, debate has occurred regarding whether the Spanish government should maintain a concordat with the Vatican.〔Maria Elena Olmos Ortega, "Los Acuerdos con la Santa Sede: Instrumentos Garantes de la Libertad Religiosa," in Maria del Mar Martin, Mercedes Salido, Jose Maria Vazquez Garcia-Penuela, eds., ''Iglesia Catolica y Relaciones Internacionales: Actas del III Simposio Internacional de Derecho Concordatorio'' (Granada: Editorial Comares, 2008), 489-502.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Concordat」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|