Vatican defends upcoming
China deal against 'drastic' critics
VATICAN
CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican’s most senior official after the pope has strongly
defended an upcoming landmark deal between the Holy See and China from
criticism by those who say it will be a sell-out to the communist government.
The
Vatican and China have been in advanced talks this year to forge what would be
an historic breakthrough and a possible precursor to a resumption in diplomatic
relations after 70 years, with Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin among
the chief architects.
Parolin
told reporters he hoped the accord can be signed “in the not too distant
future”.
The
accord, which Vatican sources said could be signed in Beijing as soon as next
week, would give the Vatican a say in the naming of bishops and give the pope
final veto power over candidates.
China’s
roughly 12 million Catholics are split between an underground Church that
swears loyalty to the Vatican, and the state-supervised Catholic Patriotic
Association.
The
potential deal has divided communities of Catholics across China, some of whom
fear greater suppression should the Vatican cede greater control to Beijing,
but others want to see rapprochement and avoid a potential schism.
“There
is no need to be drastic in condemning and rejecting,” Parolin told reporters
on the sidelines of a book presentation at the Vatican on Thursday night.
One
such drastic critic is Cardinal Joseph Zen, the feisty, 76-year-old former
archbishop of Hong Kong.
In an
interview with Reuters in Hong Kong on Thursday night before Parolin spoke at
the Vatican, Zen, in a highly personal attack on the pope’s right-hand man,
said Parolin should resign.
“I
don’t think he has faith. He is just a good diplomat in a
very
secular, mundane meaning,” Zen said. “They’re giving the flock into the mouths
of the wolves. It’s an incredible betrayal.”
Parolin
said: “Everyone has the right to think what they want but it has to be done in
a respectful way. We are convinced that this is a step forward. We are not so
naive as to think that from now on everything is going to go well, but it seems
to us that this is the right direction”.
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