Cardinal Parolin Says the Holy See Wants to Renew the Sino-Vatican Agreement

In response to a question from LifeSiteNews on this subject, the Cardinal Secretary of State stated precisely: “Regarding your question on the agreement of the Holy See with China, we hope to renew it.” He added: “We are in discussions on this point with our Chinese interlocutors.”

This secret agreement would recognize the state-approved Church in China, or Patriotic Church, and allow the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to nominate bishops. The Pope retains a right of veto, even if, in practice, it is the CCP which has control, as has been seen three times already.

In July 2023, Cardinal Parolin defended the secret nature of the agreement, stating that “the text is confidential because it has not yet been finally approved.” The agreement, which “revolves around the basic principle of consensuality of decisions affecting bishops,” is achieved by “trusting in the wisdom and goodwill of all,” he said.

One of the most vocal critics of the secret deal is Cardinal Joseph Zen, who called it an “incredible betrayal,” further accusing the Vatican of “selling out” Chinese Catholics. He went so far as to call on the Vatican Secretary of State to resign, highlighting his “complete abandonment” of the Chinese Church to the communist authorities.

Before the first renewal of the agreement in 2020, Mike Pompeo, the U.S. Secretary of State at the time, asserted that “the Vatican endangers its moral authority should it renew the deal.” He stated in an article that “it is clear that the Sino-Vatican agreement has not shielded Catholics from the Party’s depredations.”

This is corroborated by the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China which has documented the increase in persecution of Chinese Catholics over the past 6 years as a direct consequence of the agreement. Its 2020 report points out that the persecution observed is “of an intensity not seen since the Cultural Revolution.”

Several China specialists have said the same thing. Thus, Steven Moser, an expert on this issue, explained to Life Site News earlier in April that “all bishops who refuse to join the Catholic Patriotic Association are placed under house arrest, or disappeared.”

Archbishop Paul Gallagher, who serves as Vatican Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations of the Secretariat of State, declared in 2023 that the deal was “not the best deal possible,” due to the “other party.

Last month, Archbishop Gallagher called it “a useful means for the Holy See and the Chinese authorities to deal with the question of the appointment of bishops,” while cautiously admitting its limitations. He pointed to the complete lack of “willingness or openness” to advance the agreement on the Chinese side.

Finally, Fr. Gianni Criveller, director of AsiaNews since September 2023, sinologist, historian and theologian, who lived and taught in the Chinese world for 27 years – and who never appreciated the agreement – affirmed in a article from February 12 that “from what we can we know, 2024 should be a decisive year for dialogue between China and the Holy See: the 2018 agreement, renewed twice, will have to be permanently ratified or abandoned.”