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Pope Francis-era deal with Chinese Communist Party again under scrutiny as Pope Leo takes the reins
Pope Leo XIV celebrates first Mass as pontiff
Pope Leo XIV, history’s first North American pope, said Friday that his election was both a cross and a blessing as he celebrated his first Mass in Sistine Chapel. (Associated Press)
A 2018 deal between the Vatican and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) secured by Cardinal Pietro Parolin is once again under scrutiny as questions remain over how newly appointed Pope Leo XIV will take on the CCP.
The Parolin-brokered deal was and remains a controversial agreement between the leaders of the Catholic Church and the CCP, which has long oppressed Catholics across China.
While the agreement was championed by the late Pope Francis and his secretary of state, Parolin — the Vatican’s top diplomat — as a step toward «normalizing» Catholicism in the communist nation, experts argue it has brought dangerous consequences for the faithful.
WORLD LEADERS CONGRATULATE POPE LEO XIV, FIRST AMERICAN PONTIFF
Cardinal Pietro Parolin. (Stefano Carofei /IPA/Sipa/IMAGN)
«It erodes papal authority to appoint bishops, the leadership of the Catholic Church in China,» Nina Shea, senior fellow and director of the Center for Religious Freedom at Hudson Institute, told Fox News Digital.
«A principal responsibility of a bishop is to train and ordain priests,» she explained. «Therefore, the CCP has been given control in determining the chain of authority in the hierarchical church.»
Under this agreement, all Catholic clergy are required to register with the CCP’s Patriotic Association — which was created in 1957 and was long rejected by the Catholic Church as illegitimate because it required that all clergy reject foreign influence, including that of the pope.
Parolin in 2019 said the aim of this agreement was «to advance religious freedom in the sense of finding normalization for the Catholic community.»
Details of the deal remain unclear because it has been kept secret, explained Shea.
While the agreement reportedly looked to end the decades-long negative ties between the Vatican and the CCP by allowing China to have more influence over bishop appointments, experts have argued for years it gave too much authority to the oppressive government.
But there is an even greater problem when it comes to the Vatican seeming to have capitulated to the CCP.
FIRST AMERICAN ELECTED PONTIFF, GET TO KNOW POPE LEO XIV
Pope Francis greets the people of China as he concludes Mass in the Hun Theatre in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, on Sept. 3, 2023. (Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images)
Following the agreement, the Vatican additionally agreed to drop its support for the underground Catholic network, which has existed in China for decades and has supported millions of Catholics in the country.
According to Shea, the CCP essentially «tricked» the Vatican because it simultaneously, in what she believes was an unbeknownst move to Parolin, banned children from being allowed in the Catholic Church — this ban included important sacraments of the church like baptisms, holy communion and confirmations.
The ban effectively blocks the continuation of the Catholic Church in China.
«The underground, even during the harshest period under Mao, carried out this education and evangelization,» Shea said. «Without being able to perpetuate itself, the Catholic Church in China could die out in a couple generations.»
«It’s a campaign to create an atheist society,» she added.
The Vatican did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s questions over whether Pope Leo will adhere to the agreement with the CCP or look to forge a new one.
A man looks on in a Catholic church in Zhuozhou, China’s northern Hebei province, on April 22. (Adek Berry/AFP via Getty Images)
TAIWAN EYES VATICAN-CHINA TIES AFTER POPE FRANCIS’ DEATH
But in his first homily on Friday since being made leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Leo highlighted the church’s fight against rising atheism.
«There are many settings in which Jesus, although appreciated as a man, is reduced to a kind of charismatic leader or superman. This is true not only among non-believers but also among many baptized Christians, who thus end up living, at this level, in a state of practical atheism,» he said. «These are contexts where it is not easy to preach the Gospel and bear witness to its truth, where believers are mocked, opposed, despised or at best tolerated and pitied.»
The pope said, for this reason, «missionary outreach is desperately needed.»
Pope Leo warned that a «lack of faith» has led to not only a «loss of meaning in life» for many, but also «the neglect of mercy, appalling violations of human dignity, the crisis of the family and so many other wounds that afflict our society.»
Pope Francis appoints U.S.-born cardinal, prelate prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, Robert Francis Prevost during the Ordinary Public Consistory for the Creation of new Cardinal at St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City on Sept. 30, 2023. (Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images)
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While congratulatory messages were issued by leaders of Catholic and non-Catholic nations alike, China did not issue a similar message upon the pope’s appointment on Thursday.
In a Friday press conference, when asked about the Church’s new leader, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said, «We hope that under the leadership of the new pope, the Vatican will continue to have dialogue with China in a constructive spirit, have in-depth communication on international issues of mutual interest, jointly advance the continuous improvement of the China-Vatican relations and make contributions to world peace, stability, development and prosperity.»
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El régimen de Irán lanzó una nueva ola de ataques nocturnos con bombas de racimo sobre el centro de Israel
Irán lanzó un nuevo ataque con bombas de racimo sobre Israel
Un ataque con municiones de racimo lanzadas desde Irán impactó en el centro de Israel, generando daños materiales y movilizando a los servicios de emergencia, aunque sin dejar víctimas mortales.
De acuerdo con fuentes militares, el sistema de defensa antimisiles fue activado tras detectar el lanzamiento de proyectiles hacia territorio israelí. Las autoridades emitieron alertas telefónicas a los residentes de las zonas afectadas, instándolos a buscar resguardo inmediato y permanecer en sitios seguros hasta nuevo aviso.
El servicio de emergencias desplegó equipos en diferentes puntos de la región central, donde se reportaron daños por esquirlas y fragmentos de las bombas de racimo. Aunque no hubo fallecidos, paramédicos brindaron atención a personas que resultaron heridas mientras intentaban llegar a refugios, así como a varios ciudadanos que sufrieron crisis de ansiedad por la situación.
En la ciudad de Petah Tikva, los bomberos y rescatistas realizaron búsquedas ante informes de nuevos destrozos en viviendas y calles como consecuencia del impacto de la munición.
Este episodio ocurre en el contexto de una escalada bélica que en las últimas horas incluyó una oleada de ataques israelíes sobre Teherán, bombardeos sobre el sur del Líbano y amenazas cruzadas de represalias.
Irán amenazó con responder a cualquier ataque contra sus centrales eléctricas cerrando por completo el estrecho de Ormuz y lanzando ofensivas contra infraestructuras estratégicas de Israel y aliados de Estados Unidos en la región.
“El estrecho de Ormuz será cerrado completamente y no se reabrirá hasta que nuestras centrales eléctricas destruidas sean reconstruidas”, declaró Ebrahim Zolfagari, portavoz de la coordinación militar iraní.
La situación en Ormuz sigue siendo un punto de máxima tensión: el presidente estadounidense, Donald Trump, dio a Irán un plazo de 48 horas para reabrir la ruta marítima al tráfico internacional bajo amenaza de atacar instalaciones eléctricas iraníes.
Teherán ha mantenido su postura desafiante, asegurando que el paso marítimo permanece abierto solo para quienes no violen la soberanía de Irán, y reiterando que responderá con “medidas inmediatas” a cualquier agresión.
“Las amenazas y el terror no hacen más que reforzar nuestra unidad. La ilusión de borrar a Irán del mapa muestra desesperación frente a la voluntad de una nación que hace historia”, dijo el presidente iraní, Masoud Pezeshkian.
En paralelo, Israel intensificó sus operaciones en el sur del Líbano, atacando viviendas y puentes sobre el río Litani, una infraestructura clave para el país vecino. El gobierno libanés denunció que estos bombardeos podrían ser el preludio de una invasión terrestre, mientras que comunidades enteras han quedado aisladas y la ciudad de Tiro está incomunicada tras la destrucción de la principal autopista de la zona.
El presidente de Líbano, Joseph Aoun, calificó las acciones israelíes como una “violación de la soberanía” y advirtió sobre el riesgo de una expansión del conflicto.
En Israel, la preocupación crece ante la posibilidad de que los ataques con bombas de racimo se repitan y alcancen áreas densamente pobladas. El primer ministro Benjamín Netanyahu visitó Arad, uno de los puntos afectados por misiles iraníes, y sostuvo que el país está “aplastando al enemigo y ganando la batalla”, instando a otros países a sumarse a la ofensiva.
El ejército israelí reportó que Irán ha lanzado más de 400 misiles balísticos desde el inicio de la guerra, y asegura haber interceptado aproximadamente el 92% de ellos.
El saldo de víctimas continúa en aumento en los diferentes frentes del conflicto. En Irán, fuentes oficiales reconocen más de 1.200 muertos, aunque ONG opositoras elevan la cifra a más de 3.200, incluidos centenares de civiles. Líbano supera el millar de fallecidos y cientos de miles de desplazados, mientras que en Israel se contabilizan 15 muertos en su territorio y cuatro mujeres fallecidas en Cisjordania.
El papa Francisco, en un llamado desde el Vaticano, condenó la guerra en Medio Oriente y pidió un cese inmediato de las hostilidades, describiendo la situación como “un escándalo para toda la familia humana”. Mientras tanto, la tensión en la región sigue creciendo y la posibilidad de una solución diplomática parece cada vez más lejana.
(Con información de EFE)
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Iran is poised to strike critical desalination infrastructure across the Middle East within days, escalating tensions with the U.S. and Israel and triggering global economic fallout, a U.N. official warned Sunday.
Kaveh Madani, an Iranian scientist and U.N. official, said desalination plants across the region could be hit «within the next few days,» raising the prospect of a broader regional water crisis and affecting global markets.
The strike threats made by the regime on Sunday came in response to President Donald Trump’s warning that the U.S. would hit Iranian power infrastructure unless the Strait of Hormuz was opened within 48 hours.
A spokesperson for the Central Headquarters of Hazrat Khatam al-Anbiya (PBUH) said, «Following previous warnings, if Iran’s fuel and energy infrastructure is attacked by the enemy, all energy, information technology, and desalination infrastructure belonging to the US and the regime in the region will be targeted.»
IRAN HOLDS WORLD ENERGY HOSTAGE WITH ‘NIGHTMARE’ STRAIT OF HORMUZ SEA MINES, FORMER CENTCOM OFFICIAL WARNS
U.N. official Kaveh Madani warns desalination plants across the Middle East could be struck within days, risking a regional water crisis and global economic fallout. (ruelleruelle/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
«The desalination plants might be targeted again within the next few days,» Madani told Fox News Digital.
«The driest region of the world might see a real water war, but the knock-on effects on the world’s economy, including the U.S., will be both immediate and lasting,» Madani said, pointing to what he described as a «new phase in the conflict» involving such critical civilian infrastructure.
«Now, add the possibility of damage to the already fragile water infrastructure, including treatment plants, pumping stations, and distribution networks,» he said. «The consequences would be catastrophic and lasting.»
Kaveh’s warning comes as the conflict — now in its fourth week — has expanded beyond military targets. Desalination facilities, including a plant on Iran’s Qeshm Island and another in Bahrain, have allegedly already been struck.
US ‘LOCKED AND LOADED’ TO DESTROY IRAN’S ‘CROWN JEWEL’ ‘IF WE WANT,’ TRUMP WARNS
Iran threatens to target desalination and energy infrastructure within days, a U.N. official warns, citing lasting consequences for global markets and water supplies. (Gabriela Maj/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Desalination, the process of creating drinkable water from seawater, is critical to supplying water across Israel and many of Iran’s Gulf neighbors, particularly in such arid regions where natural freshwater is scarce.
Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of the Iranian parliament, echoed the regime’s threats in a post on X on Sunday, warning that «critical infrastructure, energy, and oil across the region will be irreversibly destroyed, and oil prices will rise for a long time» if Iran’s power plants are struck.
«With a blackout, water treatment and distribution systems will also collapse in some parts of the country,» Madani clarified.
«Iran will retaliate by attacking desalination, energy, and other energy-related infrastructure in all countries in the region that are parties to the war, including Israel,» he added. «The price of oil and gas will increase further, and the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed, while a humanitarian disaster is created as millions of people lose access to water and electricity in the region.»
TRUMP SAYS US ‘OBLITERATED’ TARGETS IN STRIKE ON KEY IRANIAN OIL HUB
An aerial view of the island of Qeshm, separated from the Iranian mainland by the Clarence Strait, December 10, 2023. (Stringer/File Photo/Reuters)
«The U.S. has allegedly already attacked a desalination plant in Qeshm Island, and the Iranians have allegedly responded by striking a plant in Bahrain,» he said.
«Iran is the least reliant on desalination plants, so it is explicitly including them as legitimate targets for retaliation because this is the biggest vulnerability of the other parties to the war across the Middle East,» he added.
Despite that relative advantage, Iran itself has faced years of severe drought, mismanagement of water resources, and declining groundwater levels, leaving parts of the country increasingly water-stressed.
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«If Iranians run out of water and/or electricity, they won’t rise up,» Holly Dagres, Libitzky Family Senior Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said.
«The unfortunate truth is that the Islamic Republic would rather allow the country to burn than appear weak while it is facing an existential threat,» she said.
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California sheriff seizes 650,000 ballots in defiance of state officials over election count dispute
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A California sheriff and top Republican candidate for governor seized over 650,000 votes from the state’s November elections this weekend.
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco launched an investigation into the state’s November 2025 special election on Proposition 50 after a third-party organization, the Riverside Election Integrity Team, claimed it found roughly 45,000 excess votes. California elections officials have dismissed the team’s findings, but Bianco says his office will conduct another count.
«This investigation is simple: Physically count the ballots and compare that result with the total votes recorded,» Bianco told reporters at a Friday press conference.
Proposition 50 was a key proposal seeking to reform California’s congressional districts. It was designed to favor Democrats in response to a similar effort by Republicans in Texas.
BIANCO SAYS ‘DEMOCRAT POLICY IS INDEFENSIBLE’ AS GOP CANDIDATES TOP CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR POLLING
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a Republican candidate for California governor, joins Kate Monroe, an advocate for veterans, on a tour of Skid Row in Los Angeles. (Sarah Reingewirtz/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images)
Secretary of State Shirley Weber has argued Bianco has no authority to carry out a recount.
«The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office has taken actions based on allegations that lack credible evidence and risk undermining public confidence in our elections,» Weber told City News Service. «The sheriff’s assertion that his deputies know how to count is admirable. The fact remains that he and his deputies are not elections officials, and they do not have expertise in election administration.»
Riverside elections official Art Tinoco rejected the Riverside Election Integrity Team’s findings earlier this month, saying the group had misinterpreted how votes are counted on Election Day.
GOP SHERIFF LEADING CALIFORNIA POLL RIPS NEWSOM’S ‘LOVE AFFAIR’ WITH CRIMINALS
California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks at a «Yes On Prop 50» volunteer event in Los Angeles. Voters approved the measure, which authorized temporary changes to congressional district maps. (Getty Images)
Tinoco told county supervisors earlier this year that the initial intake logs by polling workers are meant to be estimates rather than exact tallies of how many votes were cast. Even so, he said the final tally was within 0.16%, or 103 votes, of the original estimate.
The Elections Integrity Team maintains their math is correct, however, and it was this disagreement that led Bianco to open an investigation of his own.
Bianco accused California Attorney General Bob Bonta, a Democrat, of intervening in the investigation. Bonta, however, says his office only sought to learn the basis of the probe.
«We have attempted to work cooperatively with the Sheriff’s Office in order to better understand the basis for their investigation, including by reviewing the warrants themselves and by requesting the Sheriff’s complete investigative file,» Bonta’s office told Fox News Digital on Sunday. «We made these requests pursuant to the Attorney General’s supervisory authority over county sheriffs.»
«During this time, the Sheriff has delayed, stonewalled, and otherwise refused to work with us in good faith. To date, the Sheriff has failed to provide most of the requested documentation. But, what we have been able to learn raises serious questions about the merits of this investigation. We are especially concerned with legal deficiencies in the affidavits underlying the warrants, including the omission of material facts,» his office added.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta has criticized Bianco’s election investigation. (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Bianco has also clashed on social media with Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., who is running for California governor as well.
Bianco said Friday that his office had received multiple letters from Bonta ordering him to cease the investigation, according to the Desert Sun.
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«The outrage that an investigation was happening was extremely concerning to me, especially coming from someone who claims to be a law enforcement officer that is, I’ve said this a minimum of a thousand times, he’s an embarrassment to law enforcement,» Bianco said.
Bonta and Weber did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
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