Cyberscoop reports hackers posed as UCANews.com journalists in order to gain an advantage for China in negotiations with the Holy See.

Researchers at the security firm Recorded Future first identified hackers affiliated with a group called Mustang Panda in July.

The hacker group was conducting espionage against targets involved in negotiations around the operations of the Catholic Church in China.

Information on Catholicism in China has been of keen interest to the Chinese government since the Vatican cut off diplomatic relations with China in 1951.

After a brief halt to their activities, the hackers changed their approach, making detection more difficult.

The latest spate of targeting has included ‘spoofed' email headers including specific lures about the provisional agreement between the Vatican Holy See and the Chinese Communist Party.

Hidden in the email is malware which allows a remote user to steal data. They can even take control of affected systems without permission or authorization.

The findings show how intent hackers are on collecting intelligence on entities involved in diplomacy between the Vatican and the Chinese Communist Party.

The resurgence of the hacker campaign came just days before the Vatican announced it had officially extended an agreement with Beijing about the appointment of Bishops in China.

Cybersecurity expert Andrew Jenkinson of Cybersec Innovation Partners in London has expressed concern over the Vatican internet security and vulnerability to cyber-attacks.

The Vatican has a sprawling system of websites, they are administered by the Internet Office of the Holy See.

The Vatican's web presence has expanded steadily since it launched its main website, www.vatican.va, in 1995.

Jenkinson noted that www.vatican.va remained "not secure" months after the breach was reported earlier this year.

Sources

Cyberscoop

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Pompeo, an evangelical Protestant and staunch critic of China, in a radio interview drew an implicit contrast between Francis and John Paul II — a hero of conservative Catholics whom President Donald Trump is courting ahead of November 3 elections.

"John Paul II was an important part of turning the tide and creating freedom in Europe and the destruction of the Soviet Union and the freedom of the people that were oppressed by the Soviet Union," Pompeo told conservative host Hugh Hewitt. Read more

Critics of the 2018 accord say Francis sold out the underground faithful.

But the deal was - and is - necessary to the life of the Catholic Church in China, says Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

In the Holy See's most authoritative and comprehensive response to critics of the extended accord, Parolin says popes as far back as Pius XII had tried to reopen a path of dialogue with Beijing after the communists came to power and expelled foreign missionaries.

He also pointed out that Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI approved the draft accord when he was the pontiff, and it was this deal that the Vatican under Pope Francis eventually signed in 2018.

He added that the accord only covers the nomination of bishops and does not in any way touch on other aspects of the life of the church in China, much less political issues.

Parolin's assertion that Benedict approved the draft is significant and was aimed at silencing some of Francis' conservative critics. Many of his critics are nostalgic for Benedict's conservative papacy and have used the China agreement to undermine Francis.

The new agreement is a "point of departure", Parolin says. In his opinion it is worth extending the 2018 deal because two years was too short a period of time to evaluate its worth.

"There have been some results, but in order for the dialogue to have more consistent fruits, it's necessary to continue," he said.

"From the Holy See's side, there is the will to prolong the accord on an experimental basis, as it has been done, in order to verify its use."

Parolin was roundly criticised for the Vatican's discussions with China last week

During a speech on religious liberty in Rome and in an essay he wrote before his arrival in Rome, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made clear U.S. objections to the accord.

He urged the Vatican to join the U.S. in denouncing China's crackdown on religious and ethnic minorities, Catholics among them.

Source

• AP
• Image: Reuters

Critics are condemning the deal's extension as a sell-out to the communist government, a senior Vatican source says.

China's agreement to extend the deal is likely, given that China says its relationship with the Vatican has been improving.

A Foreign Ministry spokesperson says China would like to remain in touch with the Vatican to ensure more progress in the relationship.

He made the comment after hearing reports that Francis had given the green light to extend the accord with Beijing.

Some Catholics in Asia are concerned China would pressure the Vatican to include Hong Kong in the deal.

However, a source who claims to know the text of the new deal says this is not the case.

"There are no changes," he said of the still-secret accord text.

Catholics in China are emerging from more than half a century of division that saw them split between a state-backed "official" Church and a "non-official" underground Church that remained loyal to Rome.

Both sides now recognise the pope as supreme leader of the Catholic Church.

"It's not easy dealing with a communist, atheist regime that sees religion as interference, but what we have is better than no accord at all," a Vatican source says.

China's constitution guarantees religious freedom. However in recent years the government has tightened restrictions on religions seen as a challenge to the Communist Party's authority.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) says Catholics and observers are concerned about the decision to extend the agreement.

Its renewal comes at a time of increasing violations of citizens' right to freedom of religion or belief, they say.

CSW receives reports of violations against every major religious community in the country, including Christians, Uyghur Muslims, Tibetan Buddhists and Falun Gong adherents.

Some critics, like Cardinal Charles Maung Bo of Myanmar and Cardinal Joseph Zen of Hong Kong, have accused the Vatican of selling out and offending the memory of persecuted Catholics.

The Vatican is defending its decision, saying no deal would have risked causing a schism in the Church in China.

"It is understandable for the Vatican to want to renew because after [the civil war in China in] 1949 there was no dialogue. Now the Vatican at least has this thread, albeit a very weak one," says the head of the Rome-based AsiaNews agency, which monitors China.

"But it has borne very little fruit so far and I hope the Vatican demands more from the Chinese."

Many see the deal as precursor to re-establishing diplomatic relations after a rupture of more than 70 years.

To do so, the Vatican would have to break full relations with Taiwan.

The Vatican has asked Taiwan not to worry about the deal's extension, as it was a religious matter and not a diplomatic one.

Source

• Reuters
• Reuters
• Reuters
• The Tablet
• Image: America Magazine

One expert on Chinese affairs has stepped in insisting that the deal was not only good, but a product of more than 30 years of Vatican diplomacy.

Paolo Affatato, head of the Asia desk for Fides News, told Crux that Pope Francis's agreement with China on the appointment of bishops "is a fruit of 30 years of work, it wasn't born yesterday."

"It was born under John Paul II, who was the first to begin the process of closeness and communion of the bishops in China who were considered illicit," he said, calling the agreement a "point of arrival" for not only Francis, but also St. John Paul II and Benedict XVI. Read more

Zen, who is the former bishop of Hong Kong, says the distinction between the underground Church and the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association has not been eradicated.

He says those who attend the "underground" Church worship in secret and are subject to persecution from the government if they are discovered.

Amid a religious crackdown in China, Zen says priests of the underground Church have been encouraging their parishioners to skip Mass for their own safety. Read more

Speaking at a conference entitled "Christianity in the Chinese Society: Impact, Interaction and Inculturation" in Rome late last week, Cardinal John Tong Hon said he supports the proposed agreement.

The agreement would see the Vatican propose a shortlist of candidates for a bishop's post.

The Patriotic Association, a body set up by the Chinese government to govern Catholic affairs, would select the bishops from the list.

While Hon's predecessor, Cardinal Joseph Zen, opposes the arrangement, Hon - who is Hong Kong's bishop emeritus - says he believes the Chinese government has generally become more tolerant.

In his opinion, an accord would help bring further openness and unity to the Church.

He told the "Christianity in the Chinese Society: Impact, Interaction and Inculturation" conference the agreement is "far-sighted".

He said at times, sacrifice is necessary in order for Catholics to become "members of one family."

The proposed agreement between China and the Vatican is intended to resolve long-standing tensions over the appointment of bishops.

The tensions have seen the Vatican insisting on the Pope's autonomy and Chinese authorities asserting the right to name bishops to protect against foreign influence.

If an agreement is signed, it would signal an easing of the difficulties between Rome and Beijing.

They severed diplomatic ties in 1951, although there have been intermittent attempts to rebuild relations between the two since the 1980s.

During the conference, Tong stressed that "dialogue is an indispensable feature of our modern world".

In his view, if Christianity and China "take a further step, we will find ourselves getting closer and closer to each other and becoming friends on the path to the truth."

"I've never seen a more serious attempt to enter into a dialogue and to continue the dialogue," said Missionhurst Father Jeroom Heyndrickx.

Heyndrickx is a member of the Vatican Commission on China, which has not met under Pope Francis.

He noted that the Vatican was not considering diplomatic ties, but only the appointment of bishops.

Hendrickx said Pope Francis restarted negotiations with China in 2014, and "it has been clear from the beginning … it was a serious attempt on both sides."

Source

• Catholic News Agency
• Crux Now
• Catholic Herald
• Image: South China Morning Post