So far, we have examined the concordats in their relations with the Pope; lay leaders, for their part, are bound in commutative justice by many articles of a concordat, unless an exception is proven. But all the articles of a concordat impose an additional duty of obedience on Christian leaders; for, as Tarquini testifies, a concordat can rightly be defined as „a particular ecclesiastical law for a particular country, promulgated by the authority of the sovereign pope at the request of the sovereign of that country and reinforced by the special obligation that that sovereign assumes to respect its provisions forever.“ (b) The theory of the pact, as we have already said, transforms the Concordat into a bilateral pact. However, it should be noted that the proponents of this view are divided among themselves. Some insist that the Roman pope cannot make any changes, not even valid, regarding everything he has admitted in a concordat. The principal author of this school is Schulte, an ex-Catholic who openly bases his views on concordats on his hypothesis of perfect coordination and equality between church and state, just as legalistic theory is based on the subordination of ecclesiastical and civil power. Others, among whom we can mention De Angelis, Cavagnis and Fink, while maintaining the theory of the pact, explain it in such a way that it is fully consistent with the strict Catholic doctrine on the constitution of the Church. According to them, a concordat is a bilateral pact, but not in the narrow sense of the term. In fact, they limit and weaken the power of a treaty applied to a concordat so much that they sometimes seem to maintain the view of those who believe that a concordat should be considered a privilege rather than a real treaty. However, the contract may refer to any agreement between two or more parties that is legally enforceable. As a general rule, a contract establishes an obligation on each party to do something (e.B. to provide goods or services at a fixed price and according to a specific schedule). It can also create the obligation not to do something (for example.

B disclose sensitive company information). It is clear that only persons of the Church or State authorized to conclude a concordat who have the right to conclude contracts and even to legislate in their respective fields are authorized. Therefore, bishops, as true leaders of the Church, endowed with the power to make strictly so-called laws, can also form concordats in all matters within their jurisdiction. In the past, they have often exercised this right; a concordat was concluded in 1288 between the bishops of Portugal and King Diniz and confirmed by Nicholas IV in 1289. In 1273, it was concluded between the bishops of Norway and Magnus VI (IV), by which the bishops renounced the right to elect the king as long as there were legitimate heirs of the blood, and the king in turn undertook to prevent royal officials from interfering in the free exercise of ecclesiastical authority. This concordat was confirmed the following year by Gregory X at the Second Council of Lyon. Many other concordats made by the bishops could be mentioned; for example, between the bishops of Portugal and King Manuel, who was confirmed by Leo X in 1516. Candido Mendes de Almeida lists in his „Jus Civile Ecclesiasticum Brasilicum Vetus et Recens“ eighteen concordats that were concluded between the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries by the kings of Portugal with the clergy of the kingdom to settle serious controversies. At present, bishops do not have the power to form concordats; it is reserved for the Pope.

The reason for this reservation is that concordats deal not only with one issue, but with the regulation of all ecclesiastical affairs in a particular country; such a range of questions obviously constitutes a major causa and, as such, is reserved exclusively for the judgment of the Roman pope. Moreover, in recent concordats, concessions have almost always been made that violated general canon law, and such concessions can only be made by the Pope. It should also be noted that governments that want to enter into a concordat with the Church prefer to negotiate with the Pope in order to have a decree to which all bishops are bound. When the Roman pope concludes a concordat, he acts in his capacity as pontiff and not as a civil sovereign; and this was the case even before it was deprived of its temporal sovereignty. Thus, when he establishes a concordat, he acts as pope and exercises the highest and full authority of his primacy as supreme sovereign and pastor of the universal Church. Concord comes from the Latin concord-, concors, both of which mean „agree“ and are rooted in com-, which means „together“, and cord-, cor-, which means „heart“. Translated literally, the united Latin terms are translated as „hearts together“, which is why the first meanings of English harmony contain „a state of agreement“, „harmony“ and „agreement“. The meaning of the word „agreement by agreement, pact or alliance“ then strikes, and over time, harmony refers to a treaty that establishes peace and friendly relations among peoples or nations. .