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It looks like the Roman Catholic Church is going official in China:
Representatives from the Vatican and China are expected to meet before the end of the month in Rome in an effort to finalize a deal on the ordination of bishops on the mainland, a move aimed at ending a longstanding dispute, according to Catholic Church sources familiar with the negotiations.
The Church sources also told Reuters that China is preparing to ordain at least two new bishops before the end of the year and these appointments would have the blessing of the Vatican. A person with ties to the leadership in Beijing confirmed that these ordinations would go ahead.
For more than six decades, China's ruling Communist Party has strongly opposed Rome's right to ordain Chinese bishops in a bitter contest for authority over as many as 10 million Catholics on the mainland. Bishops, priests and lay Catholics loyal to Rome have faced persecution, which has sparked skepticism over the détente in some Catholic quarters.
In yet a further sign of progress, the Vatican has reached a decision to recognize at least four Chinese bishops who were appointed by Beijing without the consent of the pope and so are considered illegitimate by the Holy See, according to Catholic Church sources and others briefed on the talks. The decision follows a breakthrough meeting in mid-August in Beijing between the Vatican representatives to talks with China and several of these bishops.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by aristarchus on Saturday October 22 2016, @11:28PM
The history of China reinforces the notion that the state needs to keep a very tight rein on religions. Westerners used to the Protestant Heretic Rebellion and the Thirty Years War do not understand why China (and it is nothing to do with Communist Atheist doctrine) suppresses Fa-lun-gong and Crazy Evangelical Bible Smugglers. But if you understood how fragile a dynasty is, and how quickly a movement to overthrow a dynasty can snowball, you would not blame them. Europe never had to deal with the Tai'ping, the Yellow Turbans, the Boxers, or western imperial powers that demanded 100 to 1 deaths of citizens of Shanghai for the killing of a few missionaries. Not to mention the Star Trek movie with Spock's half-brother in it.