CHINA, VATICAN EXTEND DEAL ON APPOINTMENT OF BISHOPS BY 2 YEARS

China said that it has agreed with the Vatican to extend for another two years a provisional deal under which Pope Francis accepted the legitimacy of Roman Catholic bishops appointed by Beijing, Kyodo news agency reported. 

In September 2018, China and the Vatican reached the historic deal. But critics of the accord say China has since intensified its crackdowns on churches not recognized by the Chinese government. The accord has expired.

China severed ties with the Vatican two years after the Communist Party took power in 1949. The Holy See currently maintains formal diplomatic relations with self-ruled Taiwan, which China claims as a wayward province with no right to state-to-state ties, the Mainichi Shimbun also reported. 

The Catholic Patriotic Association was established in 1957 as a state-sanctioned church in China and it has since been ordaining local bishops with or without the pope's prior consent. Some 12 million Catholics in China are divided into two groups, with one worshipping in government-managed churches and the other joining underground congregations.