ZitatA Vatican bishop is rebuking critics of the Holy See’s controversial deal with China by insisting the nation, known for its flagrant human rights abuses, “observes the common good.”
Bishop Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo, chancellor of the Vatican’s Pontifical Academies for Sciences and Social Sciences, had claimed in February that the Chinese are “those who are best implementing the social doctrine of the Church.”
In the “provisional agreement” signed today between the Holy See and China, the Church has agreed to officially recognize bishops of the “Patriotic Church” set up by the government.
Many Catholics have criticized the deal as a “sell out” by the Vatican of China’s underground Catholic Church and its bishops, who have undergone great persecution to remain faithful. Hong Kong’s Cardinal Joseph Zen called the deal a “complete surrender” that “giv[es] the flock into the mouths of wolves.” He has urged Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, to resign over it.