Editing Pope Pius VII (section)

===Concordat of 1801===
[[File:Jacques-Louis David 018.jpg|thumb|''[[Portrait of Pope Pius VII]]'', [[oil on wood]] by [[Jacques-Louis David]] (1805, [[Louvre]], Paris)]]

One of Pius VII's first acts was appointing the [[minor orders|minor cleric]] [[Ercole Consalvi]], who had performed so ably as secretary to the recent conclave, to the [[College of Cardinals]] and to the office of [[Cardinal Secretary of State]]. Consalvi immediately left for France, where he was able to negotiate the [[Concordat of 1801]] with the [[First Consul]] [[Napoleon]].<ref>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04262a.htm Schaefer, Francis. "Ercole Consalvi." The Catholic Encyclopedia] Vol. 4. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908</ref> While not effecting a return to the old Christian order, the treaty did provide certain civil guarantees to the Church, acknowledging "the Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman religion" as that of the "majority of French citizens".<ref name="georgetown1">{{cite web |url=http://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/resources/countries/france |title=France |publisher=[[Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs]] |access-date=15 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110206213909/http://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/resources/countries/france |archive-date=6 February 2011 |url-status=dead }} See drop-down essay on "The Third Republic and the 1905 Law of Laïcité"</ref>

The main terms of the concordat between France and the pope included:
* A proclamation that "Catholicism was the religion of the great majority of the French" but was not the official religion, maintaining religious freedom, in particular with respect to [[Protestantism|Protestants]].
* The Pope had the right to depose [[bishop]]s.
* The state would pay clerical salaries and the clergy swore an oath of allegiance to the state.
* The church gave up all claims to church lands that were taken after 1790.
* Sunday was reestablished as a "festival", effective [[Easter]] Sunday, 18 April 1802.

As pope, he followed a policy of cooperation with the French Republic and subsequently Empire. He was present at the [[coronation of Napoleon]] in 1804.