An historic deal was reached between the Vatican and the People’s Republic of China in 2018 that was seen as a breakthrough in a struggle for human rights and religious liberty.
It was hoped, certainly by Catholic diplomats, that the agreement would spell the end to an impasse over freedom of worship in the officially atheist Communist state. Tensions over religious rights had dogged relations between the two for several decades, as well as making life a miserable and unrelenting ordeal for the 12 million Catholics who form part of the 104 million Christians in the country.
