Concordat

A concordat is an agreement between the pope and a government or sovereign on religious matters. This often included both recognition and privileges for the Catholic Church in a particular country, as well as the ability for a state to influence the selection of bishops within their territory.

• Concordat of Worms (1122) between Pope Calixtus II and Holy Roman Emperor Henry V
• Concordat of 1801 between Pope Pius VII and Napoléon
• Concordat of 1925 between the Holy See and the Republic of Poland
• Lateran treaties (1929) between Italy and Pope Pius XI formally defining the Vatican City
• Reichskonkordat (1933) between the Holy See and the Third Reich
• Concordat of 1950 with the Portuguese government under Antonio de Oliveira Salazar
• Concordat of 1953 with Franco's Spain

This type of formal agreement is generally no longer used by the Vatican, the last classic concordat, with Spain, having expired in 1980. A different model of relations between the Catholic Church and states is still evolving in the wake of the Second Vatican Council's Declaration on Religious Libetry, Dignitatis Humanae.