The Vatican had a secret 2 year deal with China?
CHINA, VATICAN TO EXTEND CONTROVERSIAL DEAL
Communist Party newspaper: 'Framework has worked well'
by Jules Gomes • ChurchMilitant.com • August 5, 2020
"VATICAN CITY (ChurchMilitant.com) - The Vatican is to renew its secret deal with China after negotiations on bishops' appointments proved that "the framework has worked well for the past two years," a Chinese Communist Party newspaper reported Wednesday.
Global Times claimed Argentine bishop Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo confirmed the renewal, saying "they are going to renew it, which means the initial experience went well."
The bilateral secret agreement is due to expire Sept. 22.
Sorondo, a philosopher, is current chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.
Formerly Excommunicated Bishop Leads
Bishop Vincent Zhan Silu, vice chairman of the bishops' conference of the Catholic Church in China and bishop of the diocese of Mindong in China's Fujian province, told Global Times that both sides were optimistic about renewing the agreement and upgrading it from a temporary to a formal agreement.
Zhan, one of the seven formerly excommunicated bishops ordained without papal approval — whom Pope Francis has readmitted to communion — said that the new development shows that both China and the Holy See were satisfied with the framework in the past two years, when at least two Chinese bishops were ordained by Pope Francis as a result of the agreement.
Zhan is now fully recognized by the Chinese communist government as part of the provisional agreement, according to the Vatican's press office.
"The agreement is a key link that secures China-Vatican ties and could help push ties to the next step," Zhan emphasized.
Vatican expert Francesco Sisci, senior researcher at the Center of European Studies at the Renmin University of China also told the Global Times that the endurance of Rome's dialogue with Beijing in the face of escalating disputes between China and the United States proved that the Holy See could be a reliable partner and of importance for the communist giant.
Warning: Don't Trust China
Speaking to Church Militant, distinguished papal biographer and expert on communism Paul Kengor warned against any deal with communism.
"The Chinese leadership are communists. This is the kind of thing that they engage in. Like communists in the Soviet Union, they engage in disinformation, misinformation and manipulation — and they likewise view the Vatican and religion generally as a foe," said Kengor, author of best-selling A Pope and a President: John Paul II, Ronald Reagan, and the Extraordinary Untold Story of the 20th Century."
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