POPE DEFENDS CHINA DEAL ON BISHOPS

Pope Francis in a letter released on Wednesday defended the Vatican’s recent deal with Beijing over the appointment of bishops, saying the agreement could help to unify China’s divided Catholic Church and “heal wounds of the past.”

In a passage directed at China’s leaders, Francis said the Communist country will work with the church to ensure “greater respect for the human person, also in the religious sphere.”

The letter — addressed to the “Catholics of China and to the Universal Church” — amounted to a six-page case for the most controversial diplomatic endeavour of Francis’s papacy.

The pontiff touched on the deal’s long history, explaining some of its particulars and even making a biblical argument for compromising with an imperfect partner.