Historic accord was announced during Pope Francis’s visit to LithuaniaThe Vatican and China have signed a historic provisional agreement on the appointment of bishops. The agreement was signed in Beijing and announced while Pope Francis was visiting Lithuania at the start of a four-day trip to the Baltic countries. China cut off diplomatic ties with the Vatican in 1951. A Holy See statement did not mention Taiwan, which the Vatican recognises diplomatically. China’s foreign ministry said in a statement that the two sides had signed an agreement to maintain communications and work to improve relations.

Source: The Guardian September 22, 2018 10:30 UTC