"There's never been a Concordat in an English speaking country because of the use
of common law" , says Jesuit historian Professor Gerald Fogarty who's currently teaching
at the University of Virginia in the United States.
"... in Roman law tradition
which runs throughout most of Europe", Professor Fogarty tells Veronica Scarisbrick,
"you have the rights the State gives you. So therefore the Concordat was an agreement
between the Holy See and the government to guarantee the rights of the Church within
a particular country . "
Professor Fogarty also tells Veronica how since 1870
when Pius IX retreated into the Vatican the Roman Pontiffs never even visited their
own Cathedral. That's not until the signing of the Lateran Pacts .
In this
Programme you can also hear how Pope Pius XI reacted when Hitler came to Rome.