The Vatican said today (September 22, 2018) that it had reached a provisional deal with the Chinese government to end a decades-old power struggle over the right to appoint bishops in China, according to the NY Times website.
It was the Communist country's first formal recognition of the pope's authority within the Roman Catholic Church in the world's most populous nation, Vatican officials said.
Under the deal, Pope Francis recognized the legitimacy of seven bishops appointed by the Chinese government. Because they had not been selected by the Vatican, they had previously been excommunicated.
The agreement was in keeping with the pope's outreach to parts of the world where he hopes to increase the church's presence and spread its message. It gives the Catholic Church greater access to a huge population, where the growth of Protestantism is far outpacing Catholicism.
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