The Interconfessional laws were a series of 19th century laws in Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

 which were meant to install a government based on Separation of Church and State

Separation of church and state

The concept of the separation of church and state refers to the distance in the relationship between organized religion and the nation state....

 and voted on 25 May, 1868.

Opposition

Bishop Rudigier

Franz-Josef Rudigier

Franz-Josef Rudigier was the bishop of Linz in Austria from 1853 to 1884.He was the fifth bishop of the diocese, and much of local Church's growth is due to his vigorous and unwearied labors...

 of Linz became known for his memorable struggle against these laws, which were not only hostile to the Church, but to the marriage and school laws. The opposition to these ordinances led to judicial proceedings against the bishop and to a fine, which was, however, at once remitted by the Emperor.

Confiscated land

This defense of the rights of the Church with regard to the Christian schools had another negative result. In 1869 the Liberal parliamentary majority confiscated the lands forming the endowment of the diocese of Linz, and withheld them until the downfall of Liberalism in 1883.