Laws Affecting Church History in Mexico

During the viceroyalty period and until the constitution of 1824 the king, under the Regio Patronato, obtained concessions to:

• Send missionaries to evangelize the Indians.
• Construct churches, monasteries, and hospitals.
• Present three names of persons to the Holy Office of Rome to name the church officials of Mexico.
• Collect tithes.
  

With time the king also gained the right to abrogate the decrees of the Ecclesiastical Courts and to modify, by civil power, and transmit or not transmit the papal and church documents to his realms.

The 1824 constitution allowed freedom of choice and liberty of thought. However it was not until the Reform Laws that the government began to enforce these rights.

The Reform Laws contained sections dealing with the establishment of civil registration, the nationalization of church property, separation of church and state, suppression of religious orders, prohibition to establish convents, brotherhoods, and so on. Pensions were provided for religious clergy who accepted the laws. Among other things, the laws established:

• Marriage as a civil contract.
• Tolerance of belief.
• Secularization of cemeteries.
• Denial of church authority to charge for baptisms, marriages, burials, and other sacraments.
  

For more information on church history in Mexico, see: