Even as Pope Francis is undertakes a pilgrimage of penance across Canada - apologising for past atrocities committed by Catholic clergy against indigenous peoples - he has indicated the Vatican’s deal with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), a regime known for its brutality and repression, will be renewed once more. Coming just after reports that the Vatican’s unofficial representative in Hong Kong warned Catholics the freedoms of the past were over, Pope Francis said he hoped the Vatican’s deal with the CCP can be renewed, since the Church takes the long view on the matter. The deal – struck in 2018 with Beijing - was already renewed once in 2020.