
China-Vatican Extend Bishops 4 More Years!
China, Vatican extend bishops appointment pact for another 4 years
Beijing, Oct 22 (EFE).-
China and the Vatican have agreed to extend their provisional agreement on the appointment of bishops for an additional four years, marking the first long-term extension since the landmark pact was signed in 2018.

“Through friendly consultations, the two sides have decided to extend the agreement for another four years,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a press conference Tuesday.
Both China and the Vatican have assessed the agreement as “positive” and will continue “constructive talks” to further improve their relations, Lin added.

The Vatican and Beijing initially signed the historic agreement in 2018, and had since renewed it twice, in 2020 and 2022.
The agreement is seen as an effort to foster unity among Chinese Catholic communities, many of which had split into “underground” groups to avoid state supervision of religious practices.
In August, the Holy See expressed “satisfaction” with the Chinese government’s official recognition of Bishop Melchior Shi Hongzhen as the Bishop of Tianjin Diocese, nearly five years after his appointment.

The Vatican hailed the recognition as a “positive outcome” of the dialogue with China under the 2018 agreement, which has enabled several consensual appointments of bishops in recent years.
Under Pope Francis, the Vatican and China have gradually eased tensions, with both sides expressing a desire to strengthen their relationship.
Diplomatic relations between the Vatican and China have been severed since 1951, as the Vatican is one of the few states that recognizes Taiwan.

Since then, China has maintained its own Patriotic Catholic Church, which has led to the rise of “underground” Catholic communities, most of which remain loyal to the Vatican.
To restore formal relations, China has demanded that the Vatican sever its ties with Taiwan in line with the “One China” policy and refrain from interfering in China’s religious affairs. EFE
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