By our Foreign religious correspondent
Vatican City: The provisional agreement for appointment of bishops in between the Vatican and China has been extended further for its validity of four years from October 22, the Vatican sources said.
“In the light of the consensus arrived for an effective application of the Provisional Agreement regarding the Appointment of Bishops , after appropriate consultation and assessment, the Holy See (Pope) and People’s Republic of China have agreed to extend further its validity for four years from the present date,” according to a communiqué released by the Holy See Press Office on October 22,2024.
“The Vatican Party, “ the statement continues, “remains dedicated to furthering the respectful and constructive dialogue with the Chinese Party, in view of the further development of bilateral relations for the benefit of the Catholic Church in China and the Chinese people as a whole.”
This is the third renewal of the Agreement that, with the signing on September 2018 , opened a historic chapter in relations between the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China, and within the Church itself in China, allowing all bishops to be in full hierarchical communion with the Pope.
The People’s Republic of China was not willing to approve of the bishops appointed by the Holy See and they were at loggerheads for some years in this regard.
