https://international.la-croix.com/news/chinas-state-run-catholic-congress-after-christmas/4325
China's state-run Catholic congress after Christmas The congress complicates ongoing negotiations to normalize Vatican-Beijing relations ucanews.com reporter, Hong Kong China December 7, 2016 China's communist government will hold its Ninth Congress of Catholic Representatives for party-approved Catholic officials in late December, providing yet another hurdle for the normalization of relations between Beijing and the Holy See. The Catholic congress, usually held every five years, was delayed by a year to accommodate discussions between the two sides. The running of the conference is a curve ball for the Vatican, according to Father Jeroom Hendryckx, founding director of the Ferdinand Verbiest Foundation at Leuven Catholic University in Belgium that is devoted to the promotion of a relationship of cooperation with China. The congress sits above the bishops' conference and the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association as the key policy-making body. The fact that it is being held this year adds further complexity to the Vatican-Beijing negotiations, he said.
