Vatican renews secret accord with Beijing (Vatican News)

Confirming earlier reports, the Vatican has renewed a secret deal with China governing the appointment of new bishops.

Although only six new Catholic bishops have been installed during the first four years under the agreement, and more than thirty Chinese dioceses currently have no bishop Pope Francis recently said: “The agreement is going well.” The Vatican evidently avoided criticizing Beijing for the prosecution of Cardinal Zen in order to preserve diplomatic momentum toward a renewal of the agreement.

The provisional agreement, originally made in 2018 for a two-year period, will be renewed for the second time. Apparently the terms of the deal, which have never been disclosed, will not change.