Vatican official: it’s important to be ‘realistic’ on engagement with China

An official who works in the Vatican office overseeing mission territories in Asia, Africa, and throughout the developing world says the Church must be “realistic” in its engagement with authoritarian governments, such as in China and Vietnam. Noting that some have criticized the Vatican for not making the terms of the agreement public, referring to it as a “secret” deal, Msgr. Camillus Johnpillai said ‘secret’ is “a word that requires a certain interpretation, but the Chinese government follows everything that we do. Nothing is secret in the end.” ^[1]