Treaty with the Apostolic See aims to protect religious freedom

What is a concordat?

A concordat is a treaty under international law that the government of a particular state concludes with the Apostolic See, i.e. the papacy as an institution with international legal personality. A concordat is therefore – colloquially speaking – concluded with the “headquarters” of the Roman Catholic Church (it is a mistake to confuse the Vatican City State with the Apostolic See, as they are two different subjects of international law that are linked – among other things – by the person of the Pope). Since the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965), the protection of individual and collective religious freedom has been a regular content of concordats.

The negotiations on a treaty between the Apostolic See and the Czech Republic have a history: the idea of concluding a new international treaty was born in 1997 during the visit of Pope John Paul II. The concordat was actually negotiated and signed in 2002, but in 2003 the Chamber of Deputies did not give its consent to ratify the treaty. Negotiations for a completely new treaty have been underway since 2022.

All countries neighbouring the Czech Republic have concluded a concordat with the Apostolic See; in Germany, individual federal states have also concluded such treaties. Other European countries that have concluded concordats since the Second Vatican Council are Spain, Italy, Malta, Hungary, Croatia, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Slovenia, Portugal, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania (non-European countries are Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Tunisia, Morocco and Kazakhstan). It is obvious that Catholics are a minority of the population in many of these countries.

What is the legal force of the concordat?

If the concordat is ratified with the consent of Parliament and promulgated in the Collection of Laws and International Treaties (unlike the Concordat of 2002), it becomes an international treaty under Art. 10 of the Constitution and takes precedence over the law in the event of a conflict with it. Since the concordat regulates religious freedom, the ratified and promulgated concordat will have the status of a special human rights convention in the legal system of the Czech Republic.

The state concludes a concordat with the Catholic Church. Is this not discrimination against other churches and religious societies?

It is natural that the subject of the concordat is the relationship between the Catholic Church and the state – no other church’s body has international legal personality, so no other church can conclude international treaties. However, in a democratic constitutional state that does not identify with any church (Art. 2(1) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms) and recognises the parity of all religious communities (cf. Art. 3(1) of the Charter), the rights embodied in the concordat are enjoyed by all registered churches and religious societies, which are ultimately the institutional expression of individual religious freedom.

In other words, the rights that the concordat confirms for the Catholic Church can be exercised by all religious communities in the Czech Republic. In the Czech legal system, the conclusion of the concordat does not undermine the parity of religious communities, but rather strengthens it.

Is it even necessary to conclude a concordat?

A concordat would not only strengthen the parity of the churches and religious communities, but also the principle of legal certainty, which Parliament has undermined from time to time. A treaty under international law cannot be amended without the consent of the other party (i.e. the Apostolic See), and therefore a concordat would guarantee individual and collective religious freedom to all believers and all churches and religious societies, with all its consequences, regardless of the changing composition of the government, the Chamber of Deputies or the Senate. A certainty that ‘ordinary’ law – not constitutional law – cannot offer.

(Art. 15 and 16 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms enshrine only a few elementary rights arising from individual and collective religious freedom. The catalogue of rights of believers and their religious communities is literally scattered in many laws and regulations of lesser legal force).

Will the concordat bring fundamental changes?

No, but it will clarify a number of things. In fact, many unclear relationships between religious communities and the state remain. Even the activities of religious communities in public institutions – pastoral care – are anchored in agreements between the Czech Bishops’ Conference and the Ecumenical Council of Churches on the one hand and the responsible government body on the other, without a clear legal basis, a situation that is completely untenable. The concordat could finally change this.

What does the concordat actually contain?

The text of the agreement consists of a preamble and 16 articles, the last three of which contain final provisions that have nothing to do with the subject matter of the agreement. Among other things, the preamble emphasises the Catholic Church’s obligation to promote and develop ecumenical and interreligious dialogue. The first two articles of the treaty recapitulate the content of Art. 15 and 16 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms; beyond these provisions, however, the concordat explicitly states that the right to manifest one’s faith through charitable activities is part of religious freedom (Art. 1(1)).

The provisions of other articles emphasize the right of individuals to refuse military service or to exercise conscientious objection in health care within the limits of the applicable laws (Art. 3), the protection of the seal of confession and similar secrets (Art. 4), the possibility of entering into a marriage in the form of a church marriage (Art. 5) and the right to establish church legal entities (Art. 6). The treaty also emphasises the importance of mutual cooperation between the state and the church in the protection of cultural and archival heritage (Art. 7). Several successive articles of the treaty provide for the rights of individuals to receive spiritual care in social service institutions (Art. 8), in health care facilities (Art. 9), in prisons and similar institutions (Art. 10), in the armed forces (Art. 11) and in the security forces (Art. 12).

Finally, for the first time ever, Art.13 provides for the possibility of the state authorities to conclude agreements with churches and religious societies, including the Czech Bishops’ Conference and the Ecumenical Council of Churches, on spiritual care in public institutions, which is an established practice dating back to 1994. This provision is the most significant innovation brought by the concordat. Otherwise, it more or less recapitulates the rights of believers and religious communities scattered throughout various laws, refining them here and there, but providing them with greater legal protection by means of international law.

The full text of the signed treaty in Czech is available here.

If you have any questions about the concordat or the protection of religious beliefs or the status of churches and religious societies in the Czech Republic, feel free to contact aarjEKB_28yjEKt__8ED33dl of the Central Church Office of the ECCB.

Author: Adam Csukás