Explaining why the Vatican seems so eager for a deal with China

I have to say I was dismayed at the news that Pope Francis was going to finally approve the seven bishops that the Chinese government had appointed for the state-run government church. "What is this," I wondered, "the Middle Ages? Elizabethan England?" So I went looking for an informed perspective. And who better to give that context than John Allen?

The Vatican has its own long history of trying to accommodate Beijing, in an effort to clear the way for establishing diplomatic relations and creating a more stable legal framework for the life of the Church in China.

The debate has always been over how far Rome ought to go in trying to achieve that aim, and at what point compromise becomes appeasement. It has special resonance because we’re talking, in part, about the legacy of martyrs in China who’ve paid the ultimate price for their fidelity to the pope.

Definitely worth reading. Read the whole thing at Crux