Venti anni di Concordato in Portogallo: una rilettura del testo concordatario alla luce del principio di cooperazione

The aim of this article is to analyze the Concordat between Portugal and the Holy See, signed twenty years ago. After providing a general overview of current Portuguese ecclesiastical law and the status of religious confessions, the article will delve into a comprehensive analysis of the Concordat’s text, establishing a clear framework of the Catholic Church in the Portuguese Republic. The analysis will then focus on the principle of cooperation between Church and State and present how this has been applied in Portugal since the ratification of the Concordat. Finally, the article will offer a comparative view on the use of the same principle in concordats with countries that were once part of the Portuguese Colonial Empire.