China Broke Deal On Appointment Of Bishops: Vatican

The Vatican has accused China of violating a power-sharing agreement on the appointment of bishops, expressing growing frustration over its relationship with Beijing as China seeks to tighten control of religion, Francis X. Rocca reported for The Wall Street Journal.

Photo Insert: The Vatican itself had been criticized by Chinese Catholics, including a retired Hong Kong archbishop recently convicted by a Hong Kong court of funding protest actions, who said giving Beijing a hand in the appointment of bishops was a “profanity.”

Chinese officials installed a Catholic bishop as leader of a diocese unrecognized by Rome, the Vatican said in a statement Saturday, Nov. 26, 2022, adding that the move broke a 2018 agreement and the spirit of dialogue between the two parties.

The Vatican itself had been criticized by Chinese Catholics, including a retired Hong Kong archbishop recently convicted by a Hong Kong court of funding protest actions, who said giving Beijing a hand in the appointment of bishops was “profanity.”

They argued that Xi Jinping and his religious affairs cadres are only concerned about controlling Chinese Catholics who have been holding religious services without the consent of the Chinese Patriotic Association (CPA), which operates under the aegis of the national united front commission.

Critics have said China does not respect treaties and agreements like the 1997 treaty that guaranteed respect for Hong Kong’s political system for 50 years and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)

The aforementioned became the basis for a decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in Utrecht upholding the right of the Philippines to Panatag Shoal since it is within the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the Philippines.

China signed UNCLOS but now calls it as a mere “scrap of paper.”

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