Nancy Pelosi on Vatican bishop appointment deal with China: ‘I don’t get that’

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, a lifelong Catholic and former speaker of the House, delivered a rare rebuke of Pope Francis, sharply criticizing the Vatican’s agreement giving China’s Communist leadership a say in bishop appointments in the country.

Mrs. Pelosi, California Democrat, said in an interview released Tuesday by the National Catholic Reporter that she didn’t know what the Vatican had “achieved” with the deal, adding that she holds “a completely different view [from Pope Francis]” on the matter.

The Vatican-China agreement was first signed in 2018 and has been renewed three times — most recently allowing for an extension into 2028. It grants the Chinese Communist Party input into the appointment of Catholic bishops in China.

The deal’s full details remain undisclosed, but the pope revealed it includes a joint China-Vatican commission to oversee bishop appointments.

Intended to unify China’s state-sanctioned and underground Catholic communities, the agreement has faced widespread criticism for failing to protect religious freedom.

A Hudson Institute report this year found that persecution of Catholics in China has intensified since the deal’s implementation, and the Vatican accused China of violating its terms in 2022. Critics argue the agreement compromises the church’s autonomy while emboldening Beijing’s control over religious practices.

“We have, for decades, seen the suffering of Catholics in China,” Mrs. Pelosi told the National Catholic Reporter. “Why should the Chinese government be having a say in the appointment of bishops? I’ve talked to some folks here and they’re, ‘Well, we have to keep up with the times.’ What?! I don’t get that.”

She also invoked the Gospel of Matthew: “‘Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church.’ And now, the Chinese government?”

Mrs. Pelosi herself has not remained immune from Catholic criticism. Catholic leaders have levied frustration at her for years over her pro-choice stance, even leading San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone to bar her from receiving Communion.

The former House speaker shrugged off the denial in her interview. “My Catholic faith is: Christ is my savior,” Mrs. Pelosi said. “It has nothing to do with the bishops.”