Vatican deal on Chinese bishops extended

(ANSA) - VATICAN CITY, OCT 21 - An accord between the Holy See and China on appointing Chinese bishops has been extended for another two years, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said Wednesday.
    The deal has been criticised by the United States, which has asked the Vatican to do more to help defend religious freedom in China.
    Asked if the accord extension was a done deal, Parolin told reporters: "Yes, yes, yes. I can tell you early, it will all go well. The accord is not to be signed, it was already signed two years ago and will simply be extended another two years, on an experimental basis".
    He said "the hope is that the Chinese Church will rediscover unity thanks to this accord and may become an instrument of evangelisation, that the unity of the Church is therefore a source of authentic development of society." Asked if the content of the accord would remain secret, Parolin replied: "it is a relative secret. Many of the contents are already known. Yes, however, it is true, for the accord between the two sides, as long as the agreement is 'ad experimentum', the contents will remain reserved".
    Parolin added that he was "suffering" because of the "bewilderment" of the faithful over recent Vatican financial scandals. (ANSA).