Wednesday, October 23, 2024

Vatican and China Extend Agreement on Appointment of Bishops

 The Vatican Press Office announced yesterday that the Vatican and China have agreed to extend for another four years their Provisional Agreement on the Appointment of Bishops. According to Vatican News:

This is the third renewal of the Agreement that, with the signing on 22 September, 2018, opened a historic chapter in relations between the Holy See and the People's Republic of China, and within the Church itself in China, allowing all bishops to be in full hierarchical communion with the Pope....

The Provisional Agreement ended decades of episcopal ordinations without papal consent, leading to a radically changed scenario in the last six years. Since then, about ten bishops have been appointed and consecrated, and Beijing officially recognized the public role of several previously unrecognized bishops.