China's official Catholic Church has welcomed a controversial deal struck between the Vatican and the Chinese government on appointing new bishops.
The Catholic Church in China is split between the state-supervised Catholic Patriotic Association (CPA) and an underground church.
The Vatican on Saturday signed a landmark agreement giving it a long-desired say in the appointment of CPA bishops though critics immediately labelled the deal a sellout to the Communist government.
The provisional agreement, signed in Beijing by deputy foreign ministers from both sides, was announced as Pope Francis visited Lithuania on a four-day trip to the Baltic countries.
The CPA said it would 'persevere to walk a path suited to a socialist society, under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party'.
It 'deeply loved the motherland' and 'sincerely endorsed' the agreement, hoping relations between China and the Vatican would improve further, it added in comments on its website.
The deal involves Pope Francis recognising seven Chinese bishops who were ordained without Vatican permission. Another bishop, Anthony Tu Shihua, died in January last year but, according to the Vatican press release, 'had expressed the desire to be reconciled with the Apostolic See' before his death and was also recognised.
Vatican sources have said that a few bishops appointed by Rome will cede their places to bishops who had been appointed by Beijing.
In future, new bishops will be proposed by members of local Catholic communities together with Chinese authorities. The names of candidates will be sent to the Vatican and the pope will make a final decision, the sources said.
Vatican secretary of state Cardinal Pietro Parolin said that 'today, for the first time all the Bishops in China are in communion with the Bishop of Rome, with the Successor of Peter'.
However, some critics believe the Vatican has ceded too much ground to the Chinese government, which has become increasingly hostile to religion in recent years.
Cardinal Joseph Zen, the 76-year-old former archbishop of Hong Kong who has led the opposition to the deal, said of the Vatican negotiators: 'They're giving the flock into the mouths of the wolves. It's an incredible betrayal.
'The consequences will be tragic and long lasting, not only for the Church in China but for the whole Church because it damages the credibility. Maybe that's why they might keep the agreement secret,' Zen told Reuters in an interview on Thursday.
Vatican sources have said the deal will not be published and can be reviewed and fine-tuned in the future.
Additional reporting by Reuters.
