!!!Konkordat

Concordat, agreement under international law between the  Catholic 
church and the state concerning matters of mutual interest. The first 
concordat (called "Wiener Konkordat", 1448) concluded between King 
Friedrich IV and the Pope governed the appointments to church 
offices and church organisations (in force until 1803). The concordat 
of 1855 saw the culmination of Catholic influence in Austria. 
Matrimonial law, schools, the clergy and the  Religionsfonds were 
brought under the control of the Catholic Church. In 1868 major 
provisions of this concordat were amended by the  Maigesetze, and in 
1870 after the dogmatisation of the Primate and on the proclamation of 
papal infallibility ( without the Austrian bishops) in 1870, the 
government abrogated the concordat in Austria; it was then replaced by 
state laws and formally abolished in 1874.

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The 3%%sup rd/%  concordat, which was concluded by the Federal 
Chancellor E. Dollfuss in 1933, took effect on May 1, 1934 (essential 
parts formed part of the Austrian constitution), again granting the 
Catholic Church major influence, in particular in school matters, 
marriage and the appointment to church offices in the spirit of the 
"Christian corporate state". The state recognised marriages performed 
by the church and the validity of decisions of the matrimonial courts 
of the church. In exchange the church promised to change the 
provisional apostolic administrations (Apostolische Administraturen) 
of Burgenland and Innsbruck -Feldkirch (Tirol) into dioceses.

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The concordat was suspended from 1938 to 1945; after 1945 the 
government of the 2%%sup nd/%  Republic recognised the validity of the 
1933/1934 concordat in principle. Outdated provisions were replaced by 
new treaties and the proprietary relations were finally settled in 
1960 (Religionsfonds-Treuhandstelle), but some questions are still 
open. In 1960 the Apostolic Administration of Burgenland became the 
diocese of Eisenstadt, the Apostolic Administration of 
Innsbruck-Feldkirch was replaced by the diocese of Innsbruck in 1964, 
and in 1968 Feldkirch became a diocese in its own right. In 1962 
Catholic private schools were granted regular subsidies for the first 
time, which meant that the state paid 60% of the personnel costs; 
since 1970 all of the costs have been paid by the state.

!Literature
W. Ploechl, Zur Vorgeschichte des Konkordats vom 
5. Juni 1933, in: Religion, Wissenschaft, Kultur 9, 1958; F. 
Jachym, Kirche und Staat in Oesterreich, %%sup 2/%1955; E. 
Weinzierl-Fischer, Die oesterreichischen Konkordate von 1855 und 1933, 
1960; J. Kremsmair, Der Weg zum oesterreichischen Konkordat 
1933/34, doctoral thesis, Salzburg 1980; H. Paarhammer, Die 
vermoegensrechtlichen Beziehungen zwischen Kirche und Staat auf der 
Grundlage des Konkordatrechts, in: idem (ed.), Kirchliches Finanzwesen 
in Oesterreich, 1989; H. Paarhammer et al. (eds.), 60 Jahre 
oesterreichisches Konkordat, 1993.


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