ABSTRACT
Church-state relations are defined within the framework of the law of 9 December 1905, which was passed at a time of conflict between the state and the Catholic Church, not as a contract between partners but as a unilateral act on the part of the state aimed at limiting the influence of religion in education. There is a certain complementarity in approaches to the new social reality, raising the question of whether they provide a kind of division of labour in dealing with social problems. Looking beyond this complementarity, however, another question emerges: that of the durability of these approaches which have grown up in Catholic soil a question which applies in fact to the whole range of welfare initiatives. The welfare system has enabled women to acquire autonomy in relation to their partners, while also gaining protection against such risks as divorce, death of a partner, illness and so on.
