Vatican, China sign deal over bishops, allowing Pope a veto
Rome/Beijing, Sep 22 : The Vatican and the Chinese government signed an agreement on Saturday on the appointment of bishops in China, ending a decades-long struggle over who chooses the leaders of Catholicism in the world's most populous country, but leaving major tensions in their relationship unresolved.
The "provisional agreement" was signed in Beijing by Msgr. Antoine Camilleri, the Holy See's undersecretary for relations with states, and Wang Chao, China's Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister, the Vatican said in a statement.
Details of the agreement weren't made public, but people familiar with the matter said it allows the Pope to veto new nominees for bishops proposed by the Chinese government, Efe news reported.
"This is not the end of a process. It's the beginning," said Vatican spokesman Greg Burke in a statement. "The objective of the accord is not political but pastoral, allowing the faithful to have bishops who are in communion with Rome but at the same time recognized by Chinese authorities."
The controversial deal constitutes the first official recognition by the Communist government that the Pope is the head of the Catholic Church in China, the report said.
But the agreement also means that the Vatican will no longer approve the ordination of bishops in China without Beijing's permission.
Coming amid an intensified government crackdown on Christians and other religious groups in China, the deal has drawn protests, including from some Catholics there, that it represents a defeat for the principle of religious freedom, according to the report.
Beijing's major condition for the agreement was that the Pope recognize seven excommunicated Chinese bishops who had been appointed without Vatican approval over the years.
As part of the understanding between China and the Vatican, the Pope was supposed to fulfil that requirement before the signing of the agreement, according to people familiar with the matter.
In two of the seven cases, government-backed bishops will take the place of bishops who shunned government control -- the first time the Vatican asked so-called underground bishops to step aside for this purpose.
For Beijing, the agreement is a step towards resumption of diplomatic relations with the Vatican, which Beijing broke off in 1951, and hence part of an intensifying campaign for the isolation of Taiwan, a democratic, self-ruled island that Beijing considers a renegade province.
The Holy See is the most prestigious of Taiwan's diplomatic partners, which now number only 17 after Beijing peeled off three others this year.
Among the important unknown details about the agreement were whether the Pope will have a choice of nominees or merely a right of veto over a single candidate at a time. And also how thoroughly the Vatican will be able to vet bishop candidates ahead of time.
The agreement also leaves unresolved the fate of some 30 so-called underground bishops recognized by the Vatican but not by China.
Another complication was a major discrepancy in the number of dioceses recognized by the two sides. The Vatican tallies 144 Catholic dioceses in the country while Chinese government's count is only 96, according to the Holy Spirit Study Centre.
It was unclear whether Beijing will nominate bishops to lead the dioceses it hasn't recognized till now.
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Rajasthan’s Churu Professors Abuse Dalit Law Student, Say “You Are Chamari”
Jaipur: A Dalit LL.B student in the third semester at Government Law College in Churu, Rajasthan, has filed a FIR under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, alleging caste-based abuse, threats, and discriminatory marking by two professors.
According to The Observer Post, the complaint was filed at the Kotwali Police Station on February 27, in which the complainant, Meena Meghwal, 30, has accused Professor Apoorva Sharma and Professor Anil of making insulting caste remarks, threatening to fail her, and deliberately awarding her low grades. Police at Kotwali station in Churu filed a case under Sections 3(1)(r) and 3(1)(s) of the SC/ST Act and initiated further investigation. The case has been forwarded to Deputy Superintendent of Police Sunil Kumar Jhajharia, Circle Churu.
In her written complaint, Meghwal, Toruram Meghwal's daughter and a native of Kharia village in Jhunjhunu district, revealed that the alleged incident occurred during a college function in December 2025 and that Professor Sharma grew irritated when she raised a question during the programme.
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According to the complaint, the professor allegedly used casteist slurs in front of other students and told her, “You are chamari, you are from a lower caste. You cannot do LL.B. It is not your job,” and also threatened to fail her. The student also named classmates Akash Deep, Akash Mishra, Himanshu and Prem Prakash as being present at the time.
Meghwal further alleged that after the December incident, she continued to face humiliation, claiming that in her practical exams, she was given six marks out of 20, while in other subjects, she earned 12 to 13 points from other instructors.
On February 21, when she sought a reason for the low marks, she alleged that Professor Sharma told her, “It is my wish. I did it. You people are low caste.”
The student said she submitted a written complaint to the college administration but no action followed.
After the FIR became public, Naveen Kumar Nandan, a journalist associated with BAMCEF, shared a copy of the complaint on social media platform X and wrote, “It is very dangerous if the allegations are true.”
Some local sources cited by The Observer Post claimed that there had been earlier complaints regarding the behaviour of the accused professor. Few students have also claimed that during examinations, Scheduled Caste students were targeted and treated discriminatorily. Students have reportedly expressed reluctance to talk publicly due to fears over low attendance or practical marks. These reports have not been independently verified.
