Eight years ago, I wrote an article for the Catholic Herald in which I warned that an agreement between the Vatican and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) would be “a dangerous gamble”. Two years after that article, the Vatican signed its secret agreement with Beijing; the only comfort was that it was a temporary agreement, to be reviewed every two years. Since then my prayers have gone unanswered, and my concerns more than validated.
On 22 October this year (the feast of St John Paul II), as the CCP concluded its 20th Party Congress, the Vatican confirmed it had – for the second time – renewed the agreement. If there has been any review at all, it has been without transparency. Its details are still unknown; the full text remains confidential and the benefits totally elusive. If it is worth sticking with, should its architects not publish the agreement in full, explain the long-term strategy, defend its position and engage with critics?
