Pope Francis expressed his hope that the temporary agreement between the Vatican and China for the appointment of Catholic bishops will be extended a second time in October.
The pope stated, “The deal is proceeding well and I hope that it might be renewed in October,” in remarks to Reuters that were published on Tuesday.
The deal between the Vatican and China was initially struck in September 2018 and then extended for a further two years in October 2020.
The agreement’s specifics are not known to the general public.
In a 90-minute interview with Reuters, Pope Francis discussed the China agreement as well as his health, rumors of his resignation, and the reversal of Roe v. Wade.
The sixth Catholic bishop was consecrated in accordance with the conditions of the agreement, the Vatican confirmed in September 2021.
The Vatican has also confirmed the appointments of seven bishops who were ordained prior to the 2018 agreement.
The appointment of bishops in China under the agreement, according to Pope Francis, “is moving slowly, but they are being appointed.”
He claimed that the methodical approach was “the Chinese way,” as no one could hurry the Chinese.
The bishops who have been nominated and ordained are close to the Patriotic Catholic Association, which indicates that they are “quite near to the government,” according to Father Bernardo Cervellera, a former editor-in-chief of AsiaNews, who stated this to CNA last year.
According to Cervellera, the Catholic Church in China is still in need of about 40 additional bishops.
Pope Francis stated that the Chinese “also have their own challenges because it is not the same scenario in every section of the country” in the Reuters interview.
Local authorities also have an influence on how Catholics are treated.
In addition, he countered the detractors of the Vatican-China agreement.
Diplomacy, according to him, is the art of the feasible and of taking action to make the feasible a reality.
He likened people who were critical of the Vatican’s diplomatic actions during the Cold War, when the popes made agreements with communist governments in Eastern Europe to advance the interests of the Catholic Church, to those who were critical today.
Diplomacy is similar to that. The pope advised finding a workable solution rather than the ideal one when faced with a blocked issue.