A CN/ Vatican Deal Is Sought Within a Month -- Not Diplomacy, Though

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Stephanie Kirchgaessner, Pope Francis Targets Deal with China in Year of Mercy. Daily Telegraph, Oct 21, 2016.
https://www.theguardian.com/worl ... rcy-vatican-bishops

Quote:

"a deal to bridge what many believe is an insurmountable divide between the Roman Catholic church and the communist Chinese government could be announced within the next 30 days.  According to one person who has closely followed developments, the pope would like to seal a deal before the conclusion on 20 November of the Holy Year of Mercy, which was called by the pontiff to celebrate acts of forgiveness.

"No one believes that negotiations between the two sides will lead to formal diplomatic relations, a move that would force the Vatican to break ties with Taiwan. Jeroom Heyndrickx, a Belgian priest who has championed the negotiations, said the talks were centred on whether the Vatican would be given permission to appoint its own bishops.  There is also a disagreement over the the fate of eight 'illegal' bishops appointed by officials in China, some of whom have been excommunicated by the Vatican.

"The most vocal critic against any such deal is Cardinal Joseph Zen, a former bishop of Hong Kong and critic of China’s human rights record.

"John Allen, the editor of The Crux, a Catholic publication * * * the real difficulty in hammering out a deal was not resistance inside the Vatican but rather China's objections.  'The problem is that Xi has a strong wing of the party apparatus that says if you give the Christians, and the Catholics in particular, an inch, they are going to take a mile. Ultimately this is about who controls the Catholic community. Is the primary loyalty to the state or the pope?,' Allen said.

"Richard McGregor, a China expert and author of The Party, said it was not clear why agreeing a deal with the Vatican would be a priority for [Chinese] senior officials.

Note: Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraordinary_Jubilee_of_Mercy
(Dec 8, 2015 - Nov 20, 2016)