China and the Vatican have agreed to extend an agreement on the appointment of bishops in China for a longer period of four years, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday.

Critics argue the pact legitimizes China’s control over church affairs, while defenders say it helps support Catholics faithful to the Vatican in the Communist country.

The renewal comes days after a report from the Hudson Institute detailed how seven Catholic bishops in China have been detained without due process, while other bishops have experienced intense pressure,

BEIJING (AP) — China and the Vatican have agreed to extend a provisional agreement on the appointment of Catholic bishops in China for four more years, officials said Tuesday.

On Tuesday Vatican and Chinese authorities announced that they had extended a controversial agreement on episcopal appointments for a third time, this time extending it by four years rather than two.

China and the Vatican have signed the third renewal of an Agreement that, with the signing on September 22, 2018, initiated the dialogue and collaboration for the appointment of bishops. A

The provisional agreement was first signed in 2018 and then renewed in 2020 and 2022. The most recent two-year renewal signed in 2022 expires this week on Oct. 22.

The Vatican and the Chinese government are renewing their agreement on the appointment of bishops and extending it from a two-year to a four-year term, both sides announced.

ROME, OCT 22 - The Holy See on Tuesday renewed its agreement with China on the appointment of Beijing-approved bishops for four years and said dialogue was continuing on full freedom of worship in the Asian country.