Pope Francis Did Not Receive Hong Kong’s Emeritus Bishop

September 29, 2020 — 09/29/2020 Hong Kong (International Christian Concern) – Last week, the bishop emeritus of Hong Kong, Cardinal Joseph Zen, travelled to Rome with the hope to appeal to Pope Francis a...

Chinese Priests Dread Country’s Renewed Deal with Vatican

September 17, 2020 — 09/17/2020 China (International Christian Concern) – The Vatican-China Deal signed in 2018 expires at the end of September, allowing both sides to renegotiate terms. The current agreement requires Roman Catholic...

China Hacks Vatican to Get Ahead of a Sino-Vatican Deal Renewal

July 30, 2020 — 07/30/2020 Vatican (International Christian Concern) – Months before talks on renewal of a 2018 Sino-Vatican deal that helped solve the problems on the appointment of bishops, Chinese hackers allegedly target...

Pope Omits Hong Kong Reference in Latest Address

July 7, 2020 — 07/07/2020 Hong Kong (International Christian Concern) – In the latest Angelus address given by Pope Francis on July 5, he intentionally dropped a pre-written paragraph in reference to Hong Kong’s...

Honored Chinese Cardinal’s Beatification Delayed

March 17, 2020 — 03/17/2020 China (International Christian Concern) – The beatification process of Cardinal Ignatius Kung Pin-mei has stalled, with the Vatican stating China-Vatican diplomatic sensitivity as the cause of the delay. Cardinal...

Pope Francis Behind Sino-Vatican Top Diplomats Meeting

February 22, 2020 — 02/22/2020 China &Vatican (International Christian Concern) – On February 14, top diplomats from China and Vatican met on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference—the first meeting between foreign ministers...

Pope Blesses Icon Bound for Syria

October 14, 2019 — 10/14/2019 Syria (International Christian Concern) – As of a few weeks ago, Pope Francis blessed an icon on its way to the war-torn lands of Syria. Meant as a goodwill...

One Vatican, Two Models for Vietnam and China

September 2, 2019 — 09/02/2019 Vietnam (International Christian Concern) – The Church continues to grow despite religious persecution in Vietnam. A recent example can attest to this fact – On August 15, the solemnity...

Vatican Asks China to Stop Intimidating Catholic Bishops

June 28, 2019 — 06/28/2019 China (International Christian Concern) – On Friday the Vatican asked China that “no intimidatory pressures be applied to the “non-official” Catholic communities, as, unfortunately, has already happened”. This comes...

The Vatican Secretary of State Became First Interviewee of China’s State Media

May 13, 2019 — 05/13/2019 China (International Christian Concern) – Against a backdrop of thawed Sino-Vatican relations, the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, was interview by Global Times, a Beijing newspaper linked...

Vatican Celebrates Day of Remembrance for Martyrs

March 25, 2019 — 3/25/2019 Nigeria (International Christian Concern) - On Sunday, the Vatican held a day of remembrance for martyred missionaries on Sunday. Pope Francis highlighted the suffering of Nigeria’s Christians, calling for...

Pope Francis Unlikely to Meet Chinese President Xi Jinping

March 22, 2019 — 03/22/2019 Holy See (International Christian Concern) – Chinese President Xi Jinping paid his first visit to Italy on Thursday, 6 months after the historic deal between the Vatican and China...

Chinese Underground Bishop Skips Retirement Mass to Protest Sino-Vatican Arrangement

January 25, 2019 — 01/25/2019 China (International Christian Concern) – After the Vatican signed a provisional deal with China on the appointment of bishops last September, Bishop Zhuang Jianjian in Shantou was asked by...

Chinese Bishops’ Chief Will Work Hard on “Sinicization” of Religion

January 23, 2019 — 01/23/2019 China (International Christian Concern) – Wang Zuoan, deputy minister of the United Front Work Department (UFWD), recently visited the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (CCPA) and the Bishops' Conference of...

Vietnam Invites Vatican Secretary of State to Visit the Country

December 28, 2018 — 12/28/2018 Vietnam (International Christian Concern) – In a message sent to Pope Francis and Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of the Holy See, on the occasion of Christmas holidays,...

Vatican and Vietnam Agree to Upgrade Relations

December 22, 2018 — 12/22/2018 Vietnam (International Christian Concern) – After a Vatican delegation led by Monsignor Antoine Camilleri visited Vietnam from Dec 18-20, Vatican and Vietnamese officials have agreed to upgrade relations through...