The agreement granted the first consul (Napoleon) the right to appoint bishops; dioceses and parishes have been redistributed; and the establishment of seminars was permitted. The Pope (Pie VII) tolerated the actions of those who had acquired ecclesiastical property and, as compensation, the government took on the task of giving appropriate salaries to bishops and celerators. The government added unilateral provisions of Gallic tendencies known as the Organic Article. After being the law of the French Church for a century, it was denounced by the French government in 1905, when the ”law of separation” destroyed the Church and the State. While Protestant churches, which were local communities, were not affected by restrictions on foreign support, the Hitler government did not negotiate with them other agreements that essentially brought Nazi leaders, most of whom were Catholics, to positions of influence or total authority over Protestant churches. Many Protestant church leaders, who predicted the potential for full state control of their churches, simply organized their communities from the agreements, causing a split within the Protestant churches. These Protestant resistance fighters tried to gather Catholic prelates on the dangers these agreements rejected, but they were simply rejected when the Reich Congress was ratified. Many Protestant clerics who opposed the Nazi religious program were subsequently imprisoned or executed. Critics also say that concord has undermined the separation of church and state. [105] The Weimar Constitution (whose regulations, Articles 136-139 and 141, were reintroduced to Article 140 of the current German Constitution) does not speak of ”separation” but excludes any state religion, while religious freedom, religious holidays and the possibility of cooperation are left open. However, there was an ongoing conflict between Article 18 of the Concordat and Article 138 of the Weimar Constitution. Hitler had even more reason to be satisfied. The Agreement was his first international agreement and he significantly improved his seriousness in Switzerland and abroad.

A great moral authority had trusted his word. But the Vatican has . . . Truly believing that National Socialism would respect the agreement, there was really a good chance that the regime would not be affected to leave a rival organization with its own dogmas and with such extensive power over education?3 An additional secret protocol was added when it was signed. When the Concorda was ratified on September 10, 1933, it granted the Catholic clergy certain exceptions to future conscripts on appeal. Section 27 states that ”a exempt and tax-exempt department is recognized.” Since the Treaty of Versaille had forbidden Germany to form a large army, this provision could have been regarded by Hitler as the Vatican, which implicitly grants German rearmament. [47] Papen wrote to Hitler about this secret provision and concluded his letter: ”I hope you enjoy this agreement.” [47] The provisions of the annex were inserted at the request of the German Episcopal Conference in Fulda and the contents were kept so secret that Ernst von Weizsacker, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 1938, was only known in 1939 by the pontifical nuncio Orsenigo.

[67] Pius XI was elected pope in 1922. His pontificate coincided with the first after-effects of the First World War.