Vatican seeks to extend bishops deal with Beijing that has brought ‘positive, despite limited’ results

Holy See defends its position on the controversial agreement as pressure mounts on Pope Francis

Vatican’s secretary of state says it is ‘worth continuing’ to ‘verify its usefulness for the church in China’

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Pope Francis is under pressure to withdraw from the agreement amid criticism over China’s human rights record. Photo: AFP

Published: 12:00pm, 1 Oct 2020Updated: 12:17pm, 1 Oct 2020

The Vatican is seeking to extend a controversial agreement with Beijing on the appointment of bishops that it says has brought “positive, despite limited” results in the two years since it was signed.

It is the first time the Holy See has publicly defended its position on the deal, as pressure mounts on Pope Francis – including from some of his own cardinals – to withdraw from the agreement amid criticism over China’s human rights record.

The pact is due to be renegotiated before it expires next month, though Beijing has not yet said whether it plans to extend the agreement.

In an editorial in its mouthpiece Vatican News on Tuesday, Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said the deal was “worth continuing” on provisional terms to “verify its usefulness for the church in China”.

“Notwithstanding the lengthy period of time and difficulties, aggravated in the last 10 months due to the pandemic … it seems to me that a direction has been marked out that is worth continuing; then we will see,” Parolin was quoted as saying.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrives at the Chigi Palace to meet Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Wednesday. Photo: dpa

The editorial was published ahead of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s arrival in Rome on Wednesday. Pompeo had planned a meeting with Pope Francis, but it was cancelled – reportedly because the Holy See was concerned that it might be seen as a sign of support for President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign. The US secretary of state is on a six-day European tour, and met Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio in Rome on Wednesday.