Pompeo: "The Vatican does not renew agreement with China, it would endanger its moral authority"

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20 September 2020

"Two years ago the Holy See reached an agreement with the Chinese Communist Party in hopes of helping Catholics in China. But the Chinese Communist Party's abuse of the faithful has only gotten worse. The Vatican would endanger its moral authority if it renewed the agreement".

This was stated by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

"The State Department is a strong voice for religious freedom in China and in the world. We will continue to do so and stand by Chinese Catholics. We ask the Vatican to join us," Pompeo adds.

"Catholics are among the strongest voices in Hong Kong for human rights, including Martin Lee and Jilly Lai. Beijing has arrested them, spied on them for the 'crime' of promoting freedom. The Vatican should stand with Catholics and the people of Hong Kong ", adds Pompeo in a series of three tweets, to which he also attaches an editorial for First Things, a religious and conservative magazine. An editorial in which he states that "history teaches us that totalitarian regimes can only survive in darkness and silence. If the Chinese Communist Party" succeeds in "subduing the Catholic Church and communities of other religions, then regimes that disdain human rights will be strengthened, and the cost of resisting the tyranny by believers will go up. "