Pope Francis (pictured left) has sparked criticism within the church for his attitude towards China, while Chinese President Xi Jinping is pictured right.

(Associated Press, synthesized by this newspaper)

[Reporter Yang Chengyu/Taipei Report] In 2018, the Holy See and China signed the "Provisional Agreement on the Appointment of Bishops between the Vatican and China", which was extended for a second time in October 2022, which aroused criticism from all walks of life.

German Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, Emeritus Minister of the Faith of the Holy See, recently criticized the Holy See’s silence on Taiwan and Hong Kong issues in his book “In Buona Fede”; regarding the Vatican-China Agreement, "We can't make a deal with the devil," Mueller said.

According to a report by the Swiss Catholic media Kath, Muller severely criticized Francis in the book from the aspects of doctrine and reform of the Holy See.

Among them, regarding the relationship with China, Muller said that he is highly concerned about the danger China poses to contemporary society, and compared Chinese President Xi Jinping to Mussolini, Hitler and Stalin.

For him, the diplomatic dilemma facing Francis is similar to that of Pope Pius XII facing the Nazi regime during World War II.

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When talking about the "Provisional Agreement on the Appointment of Bishops between Vatican and China", Muller said bluntly: "We cannot sign an agreement with the devil." China hopes that Chinese priests will become the Communist Party's propaganda machine, but he borrowed Francis' criticism of the Russian Orthodox Patriarch to emphasize, The Catholic Church in China must not become the "choir boy" of the CCP.

Muller also pointed out that there is a crisis in the hood of Catholics in China, and any resistance will be punished by imprisonment or even re-education.

Muller emphasized that there must be no compromise with an unfree regime. He condemned Francis for his reservations about Hong Kong Bishop Emeritus Chen Rijun, and criticized the Holy See for not standing up for Chen Rijun's indiscriminate arrest in May last year. Remain silent on the Hong Kong issue.

"The Church must not compromise with illiberal regimes".

Muller also lamented the Holy See's hesitation in the face of Russia's aggression in Ukraine and criticized "pacifism" as a gesture of submission to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Coincidentally, Australian Cardinal George Pell, who died in January this year, was revealed to have written an anonymous memo condemning the reign of Pope Francis as a "disaster".

Pell believes the pope is overemphasizing political correctness while ignoring human rights issues in Hong Kong, China and Russia's aggression in Ukraine.