[ad_1]
VATICAN CITY: The Vatican says it has extended its controversial agreement with China on the appointment of bishops for another two years.
Details of the deal, which was reached in 2018, have never been made public. It has been criticized by some Catholic officials, as well as by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
But the Vatican said Thursday that the agreement “is of great ecclesial and pastoral value” and said it “intends to seek an open and constructive dialogue for the benefit of the life of the Catholic Church and the good of the Chinese people.” Officially, there are about 6 million Catholics in China.
Before 2018, Beijing had long insisted on having the final say on all bishop appointments in mainland China, while the Holy See held that only the Pope has that authority.
The eventual agreement ended decades of tension between the Vatican and China, which severed diplomatic ties with the Holy See in 1951 after an alleged – and often discredited – assassination plot against Chinese leaders involving a Catholic priest.
The ruling and officially atheistic Communist Party had long portrayed foreign religious institutions such as the Catholic Church as hostile forces responsible for the suffering and humiliation of the country during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The agreement, which is part of Pope Francis’ vision to expand the following of the Catholic Church around the world, would help the Vatican gain access to millions of potential converts in China, the world’s most populous nation.
But critics have questioned why the Church, historically a defender of human rights and Christian values, would voluntarily join forces with the increasingly authoritarian Chinese government, which is officially atheist.
[ad_2]
