The Portuguese State and the Roman Catholic Church

The Portuguese State and the Roman Catholic Church

The relations between the State and the Roman Catholic Church in Portugal (henceforward Catholic Church) in the XXth century are an important aspect of the Portuguese society and of the affirmation of the Portuguese Republic.

We see how important those relations are when we consider the implementation of the Law of Separation of the State and the Churches, whose first centennial will occur shortly after the end of the present research (1911-2011).

 Apparently, the Pope in the XXth century has also considered the Lisbon cardinal as the most important mediator between the Holy See and the Lisbon Government. Another fact might help to explain the strong role of the Lisbon cardinal: he was the only Portuguese cardinal in Portuguese European territory; in the XXth century there were Portuguese cardinals in Mozambique and Goa (India) but they were exceptions and were influential only in their territories. In Spain or France, there was as a rule more than one cardinal. This plurality weakened the role of the «court cardinal».

The «Cardeal Patriarca» had also a key role in Portuguese attitudes towards world events like the First World War, the Second World War, the «Holocaust» question, modern colonialism, decolonisation, democratization and European integration.

Estatuto: 
Proponent entity
Financed: 
No
Rede: 
...

The relations between the State and the Roman Catholic Church in Portugal (henceforward Catholic Church) in the XXth century are an important aspect of the Portuguese society and of the affirmation of the Portuguese Republic.

We see how important those relations are when we consider the implementation of the Law of Separation of the State and the Churches, whose first centennial will occur shortly after the end of the present research (1911-2011).

 Apparently, the Pope in the XXth century has also considered the Lisbon cardinal as the most important mediator between the Holy See and the Lisbon Government. Another fact might help to explain the strong role of the Lisbon cardinal: he was the only Portuguese cardinal in Portuguese European territory; in the XXth century there were Portuguese cardinals in Mozambique and Goa (India) but they were exceptions and were influential only in their territories. In Spain or France, there was as a rule more than one cardinal. This plurality weakened the role of the «court cardinal».

The «Cardeal Patriarca» had also a key role in Portuguese attitudes towards world events like the First World War, the Second World War, the «Holocaust» question, modern colonialism, decolonisation, democratization and European integration.

Objectivos: 
We have three main objectives: <p>1) To study the interaction between the three cardinals of Lisbon - Mendes Belo, Cerejeira, Ribeiro - in connection with the Portuguese State. </p><p>2) To throw new light in the workings of the Portuguese Government, in its relations with the Catholic Church.</p><p>3) To study the foreign and colonial policy of the Portuguese Government and of the Vatican.</p><p>We have four instrumental objectives:</p><p>1) Collection of Portuguese and Roman Catholic official documents concerning the relations between the Portuguese State and the three Cardinals.</p><p>2) Publication of these documents.</p><p>3) Sources of audio-visual documents on the relations betwen the Portuguese State and the three cardinals.</p><p>4) Establishment of an international academic network on the study of contemporary relations between State and Church.</p>We´ll take into account other churches when they are politically relevant. That´s the case in the former Portuguese African colonies.
Coordenador ICS 
Start Date: 
01/12/2006
End Date: 
01/12/2009
Duração: 
36 meses
Closed