The first practical effects of French President Nicolas Sarkozy's "positive laïcité" emerged in Paris last week as Cardinal André Vingt-Trois and Prime Minister François Fillon agreed on a way to recognise theology, philosophy and canon law degrees from private Catholic universities, writes Tom Heneghan.

Mr Sarkozy acknowledged a need for the Catholic Church and other religions in France in a speech he made in Rome late last year, sparking fears among secularists that he wanted to redraw the lines of France's Church-State divide.

France's state education system has long refused to recognise canonical degrees approved by the Holy See, arguing that they had no equivalent in secular universities. This can create professional disadvantages for graduates with such degrees because secular employers might not accept them.

Mr Fillon and Cardinal Vingt-Trois, who is Archbishop of Paris, agreed that France and the Holy See should exchange letters stating that they recognise each other's degrees as part of the Bologna Process, an intergovernmental initiative meant to make university standards and degrees compatible across Europe.

"France is the only European country that has not made an agreement on mutual recognition with the Holy See," said Pierre Cahné, rector of the Catholic Institute of Paris. "This will be very important for us, because France is a country where degrees not recognised by the state are undervalued." The meeting, also attended by the Interior, Culture, Labour and Higher Education Ministers, agreed to improve the existing procedure by which state education authorities approve diplomas from Catholic universities in secular subjects.

It also agreed to establish an official category in labour law for lay pastoral workers, who are currently employed under private contracts with their dioceses that some say work to their disadvantage.

The Foreign Ministry agreed to speed up procedures for visas for foreign priests coming to France, and the Government presented proposed guidelines for cultural events held in cathedrals owned by the state under the 1905 laïcité law. The Interior Minister Michèle Alliot-Marie added that she would work with the Church to fix priorities for renovations to buildings that were part of France's religious heritage. Cardinal Vingt-Trois expressed his concern about next year's planned reform of France's bio-ethics law and his reservations about Mr Sarkozy's proposal to name religious leaders to the Economic and Social Council, a government advisory body.