Photo/Illutration Pope Francis meets a delegation of the National Italy China Federation in the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican, February 2, 2024. (Vatican Media via REUTERS)

VATICAN CITY--The decision by the Vatican and China on Tuesday to extend an accord on the appointment of Catholic bishops in the communist country for four years indicates a new level of trust between the two parties, said analysts.

Renewal of the agreement, a landmark deal originally struck in 2018 that gives Chinese officials some input into who Pope Francis appoints as bishops in the country, was first announced at a press briefing in Beijing.

The Vatican confirmed the move in a statement, saying it “remains dedicated to furthering the respectful and constructive dialogue” with China. The deal had previously been renewed every two years.

“The Holy See is ... showing that it’s confident enough that it doesn’t need to make Beijing accountable every two years,” said Michel Chambon, an academic who has written extensively on the Catholic Church in China.

“It’s a clear signal that yes, there is some level of trust now,” said Chambon, a research fellow at the Asia Research Institute in Singapore.

Conservative Catholics have criticized the agreement as handing over too much control to China. Cardinal Joseph Zen, 92, who served as bishop of Hong Kong from 2002-09, has been among the most vocal critics.

The Vatican says the accord resolves a decades-long split between an underground church swearing loyalty to the Vatican and the state-supervised Catholic Patriotic Association.

The deal has never been published, but only described by diplomatic officials. The Vatican says the pope retains final decision-making power in appointment of Chinese bishops.

Francis has appointed about 10 new bishops under the deal, and a further 15 bishops whose positions were previously contested are now regularized, impacting about 25% of the Catholic Church leadership in China, Chambon said.

Gianni Valente, director of the Vatican news agency Fides, which has reported widely on the Chinese Church, said he saw the four-year extension “as a positive element in the sense they are giving themselves more time to work together”.

In Tuesday’s statement, the Vatican said it was hoping for “further development of bilateral relations for the benefit of the Catholic Church in China and the Chinese people as a whole”.

Speaking last month at the end of a tour of Southeast Asia and Oceania, Francis said the results of the 2018 deal “are good”.

“I am happy with the dialogue with China,” the 87-year-old pontiff said. “We are working with good will.”

Two Chinese bishops are currently in Rome, to join discussions at a month-long Vatican summit of Catholic leaders.

The Vatican is one of only 12 states to formally recognise Chinese-claimed Taiwan, which has been another stumbling block to improved ties between the Vatican and China.

Taiwan’s foreign ministry said it hope the renewal of the agreement would help improve the plight of Chinese Catholics given their right to freely worship is “under serious threat.”

Taiwan will continue to monitor the situation and work to deepen its friendship with the Vatican, the ministry added.

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