Bermuda Post

Tuesday, Mar 19, 2024

Vatican and China prepare to renew historic deal, angering US

Vatican and China prepare to renew historic deal, angering US

Pope Francis has reportedly approved a two-year renewal of the deal on the appointment of bishops vetted by the Vatican.

The Vatican and China are preparing to renew a historic deal on the appointment of bishops that has slightly thawed icy relations, but has angered the United States.

Pope Francis has given the go-ahead for the renewal of the agreement, which is still in “experimental” mode, for another two years, AFP news agency reported on Tuesday.

The extension is expected to be signed next month, according to a source close to the matter.

Last week, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin indicated Beijing’s relationship with the Vatican has been improving.

Pope Francis has been working hard to repair ties with the Communist country, but his overtures have come into conflict with US President Donald Trump’s efforts to push on a religious freedom theme against China in his campaign for a second term.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo went on the offensive last week in an article in US religious magazine First Things, slamming the “horrific treatment” of believers of all faiths in China.


He wrote that many countries had expressed “revulsion” at the “regime’s accelerating violations of human rights”.

“The Vatican endangers its moral authority, should it renew the deal”, he added on Twitter.

‘Provisional deal’


China’s roughly 12 million Catholics have for decades been split between a government-run association, whose clergy are chosen by the atheist Communist Party, and an unofficial underground church loyal to the Vatican.

The latter recognises the pope’s authority and is often persecuted for it.

After years of slow negotiations, the Vatican sealed a historical “provisional” agreement with Beijing on 22 September 2018.

The exact content has never been published, but the key point was that both Beijing and the Vatican were given a say in appointing Catholic bishops in China.

 
Francis immediately recognised eight Chinese bishops who had been appointed by Beijing without his approval.

Since then, two new bishops have been appointed in China, with a nod from the head of the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics.

And in a historic step earlier this year, Chinese and Vatican foreign affairs ministers met publicly at an international event for the first time in 70 years.

‘Very little fruit’


Thorny issues, such as Chinese Catholic priests suddenly disappearing from their parishes for weeks “at the invitation” of the authorities, are in the meantime being raised with Beijing by Vatican diplomats, the source said.

One of the Catholic Church’s leading experts on Chinese affairs, Father Bernardo Cervellera, told religious news site Cruxnow.com earlier this month that the deal may have drawn much fanfare but had so far borne “very little fruit”.

And he voiced his hope that the Vatican, in renewing the agreement, would be tougher on China.

Diplomatic relations between Beijing and the Holy See broke down in 1951, two years after the communists came to power.


Efforts to re-establish ties were hampered by the Vatican’s decision to maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan. The self-ruled island, with a population of 23 million, is considered part of its territory by Beijing.

The Vatican is Taiwan’s only diplomatic partner in Europe and Cervellera said he feared China would demand that formal ties be cut.

A spokesman for China’s foreign ministry said on Thursday that the interim deal with the Vatican had been “implemented successfully”, and there had been an increase in “mutual trust and consensus”.

Pope Francis’s right-hand man, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said in mid-September that the Catholic Church’s “current interest with China is to normalise the life of the church as much as possible”.

He admitted the results so far had “not been particularly striking”.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Bermuda Post
0:00
0:00
Close
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Israel: Unprecedented Civil Disobedience Looms as IDF Reservists Protest Judiciary Reform
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
'I just lost it' Lowe’s worker fired after 13 years of employment for confronting thieves trying to steal $2K of merchandise
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
Europe is boiling: Extreme Weather Conditions Prevail Across the Continent
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Italian Court's Controversial Ruling on Sexual Harassment Ignites Uproar
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
×