Authorities in northern China have arrested a Vatican-appointed Catholic bishop, his seven priests and 10 seminarians in what is seen as part of a renewed crackdown on the underground Catholic Church in the communist country.
China
Majority of World’s Population Lives in Countries That Violate Religious Freedom, Report Says
The 2021 Religious Freedom Report by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) found that around 5.2 billion people live in countries where there are grave violations of religious freedom, including three of the world’s most populous countries: China, India, and Pakistan.
Missionary Calls Sentenced Hong Kong Activists ‘Prophets For Our Days’
A longtime missionary in Hong Kong has praised the pro-democracy activists who received jail sentences last week for their vocal opposition to the city’s new national security law.
Analysis: Should Hong Kong Crackdowns Count as ‘Anti-Christian Persecution’?
Prison sentences handed down this week for three young pro-democracy activists, in tandem with the arrest of media tycoon Jimmy Lai, has been largely read as the latest chapter in China tightening its grip on Hong Kong and eviscerating the principle of “one nation, two systems” under which the territory was transferred to Chinese control in 1997.
China Dismissed Pope Francis’ Remarks About ‘Persecuted’ Uighur Muslim Minority
The Chinese foreign ministry dismissed Pope Francis’ criticism of China’s treatment of Muslim Uighurs as groundless. In a new book to be released next month, “Let Us Dream: The Path to a Better Future,” the pontiff said that he often thinks of “persecuted peoples: the Rohingya, the poor Uighurs, the Yazidi.”
Vatican Extends Provisional Agreement With China on Naming Bishops
The Vatican and the Chinese government will extend an agreement signed in 2018 regarding the appointment of bishops. As the initial agreement expired Oct. 22, the two sides “have agreed to extend the experimental implementation phase of the provisional agreement for another two years,” the Vatican said in a communique the same day.
Vatican Proposes Renewal of Agreement With China on Bishops’ Appointments
The Vatican has proposed to the Chinese government that they extend an agreement signed in 2018 regarding the appointment of bishops, Vatican Media reported.
Vatican-China Agreement: Secretary Pompeo Enters the Debate
About 10 days before he was expected in Rome, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted that the Vatican “endangers its moral authority” by considering an extension of its 2018 agreement with China on the nomination of bishops.
Top Officials Optimistic About Renewal of Vatican-China Deal
Top officials from both China and the Vatican have given indications that the controversial agreement between the two on the appointment of bishops, which expires at the end of September, will be renewed.
As Vatican Ponders China Deal, Expert Says It’s Brought ‘Little Fruit’
As the Vatican sits poised to renew its historic agreement with China on the appointment of bishops later this month, one of the Catholic Church’s leading experts on Chinese affairs has argued that while the desire for dialogue is understandable, there is still nothing to show for the deal two years later.