Seeking Wisdom's video: China The Vatican

From: Wikipedia On 22 September 2018, Chinese government and the Vatican signed a historic agreement concerning the appointment of bishops in China. China's foreign ministry said that the agreement works to maintain communications and improve relations between the parties. They did not establish diplomatic relations and the Vatican maintained diplomatic ties with the Republic of China on Taiwan, which the People's Republic of China does not recognize. Vatican spokesman Greg Burke described the agreement as "not political but pastoral, allowing the faithful to have bishops who are in communion with Rome but at the same time recognized by Chinese authorities." While the agreement states that China will recommend bishops before they are appointed by the pope, it also stipulates that the pope has authority to veto a bishop China recommends. Francis then approved seven bishops who had been appointed by Beijing, after withdrawing church censures against those six and one recently deceased bishop, who had all received episcopal consecration without papal approval. On 23 September, the Catholic Church in China pledged to remain loyal to the Chinese Communist Party. On September, in a letter to Chinese Catholics, Pope Francis wrote: On the civil and political level, Chinese Catholics must be good citizens, loving their homeland and serving their country with diligence and honesty, to the best of their ability. On the ethical level, they should be aware that many of their fellow citizens expect from them a greater commitment to the service of the common good and the harmonious growth of society as a whole. In particular, Catholics ought to make a prophetic and constructive contribution born of their faith in the kingdom of God. At times, this may also require of them the effort to offer a word of criticism, not out of sterile opposition, but for the sake of building a society that is more just, humane and respectful of the dignity of each person. The agreement reflects the longstanding desire of the Chinese government to end the Holy See's recognition of the government in Taiwan, even as the Chinese Communist Party of General Secretary Xi Jinping continues the campaign, launched in the spring of 2018, to increase control of foreign religious institutions. In October 2018, local Chinese government officials destroyed two Marian shrines, one in Shanxi and one in Guizhou. On 14 February 2020, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Holy See's Secretary for Relations with States, met while both were attending a meeting of the Munich Security Conference. It was the highest-level meeting between the two states since 1949. In July 2020, a cybersecurity firm claimed that Chinese state-backed hackers had infiltrated Vatican computer networks. On 15 September 2020, a Catholic periodical reported that the Vatican wants to open a Beijing office with a permanent representative and also set up a meeting between Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and the Holy See's Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin. On 17 September 2020, Foreign Policy journalist Benedict Rogers revealed that China was no longer enforcing the terms of the 2018 agreement, which were only valid for two years. Link to page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China%E2%80%93Holy_See_relations _Holy_See%E2%80%93China_Agreement