Beijing Pressures Hong Kong Catholic Church to ‘Sinicize’
Chinese bishops and religious leaders arranged a meeting with senior Hong Kong Catholic clergy to urge them to “Sinicize” the Church in Hong Kong, Reuters reported this week.

Chinese bishops and religious leaders arranged a meeting with senior Hong Kong Catholic clergy to urge them to “Sinicize” the Church in Hong Kong, Reuters reported this week.
The Chinese Communist Party has been naming Catholic bishops in the country without prior consultation with the Vatican, The Pillar reported this week.
Pope Francis has defended the 2018 Vatican deal with China over the naming of bishops but acknowledges that “mistakes” can be made.
Panelists at Jesuit-run Georgetown University converged Friday in the common belief that a Biden administration will see eye-to-eye on many issues with the Vatican of Pope Francis.
ROME — The former bishop of Hong Kong, Cardinal Joseph Zen, has labeled the Vatican’s extended deal with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) a “complete defeat” for faithful Catholics.
The Vatican has extended its controversial 2018 agreement with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regarding the naming of Catholic bishops in the country.
U.S. Senators Todd Young (R-IN) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) sent a letter to Pope Francis Monday asking the pontiff to use his moral authority to pressure Beijing to halt abuses of Uyghur Muslims in China’s Xinjiang province.
The redoubtable Cardinal Joseph Zen has attacked the Vatican Secretary of State over recent remarks about the Holy See’s deal with China, accusing the Vatican chief of telling “a series of lies.”
A growing number of human rights advocates and observers are vocally expressing their bewilderment at the Vatican’s silence over the egregious human rights abuses perpetrated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Chinese state-sponsored cyber-hackers have continued targeting Vatican computer networks as the Holy See enters discussions with Beijing over the renewal of their 2018 deal on the naming of Catholic bishops in China.
The Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, told journalists Monday that the common intention of China and the Holy See is to renew the 2018 agreement on the appointment of bishops, which is due to expire in October.
Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi arrived in Rome Tuesday, rekindling debate over the renewal of the highly contested Sino-Vatican deal over the naming of Catholic bishops in China.
China’s “underground” Catholic Church has faced increasing persecution since the signing of the Sino-Vatican agreement in September 2018, writes China expert Steven W. Mosher in an August 5 op-ed.
Lord Chris Patten, the last British governor of Hong Kong, said the Vatican “got it badly wrong about China” in its secret 2018 accord with the Communist Party on the naming of bishops.
Pope Francis instigated a recent high-level meeting between Vatican and Chinese officials, according to reports this week in the South China Morning Post.
Cardinal Joseph Zen said this week that the Vatican seeks compromise with China’s Communist Party (CCP), but they want “complete surrender.”
A representative of the state-controlled Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association ordained a new bishop Monday, the first to be ordained since the signing of last year’s Vatican-China deal regarding the naming of bishops.
China’s most famous civil rights activist has joined the chorus of critics who have denounced the recent deal between the Vatican and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as a “betrayal” of Chinese Catholics.
Chinese authorities demolished two Catholic pilgrimage sites dedicated to the Virgin Mary just weeks after the Vatican signed a deal with the Communist Party over the appointment of bishops.
The redoubtable Cardinal Joseph Zen said Thursday that the recently inked deal between the Vatican and China over the naming of bishops spells the “annihilation” of the Church in China.