Pope Leo XIV Approves Sixth Bishop Under Contested Vatican-China Deal

Pope Leo XIV has approved the consecration of Joseph Chang Yanfeng as bishop of Chifeng, Inner Mongolia, under the secretive 2018 Vatican-China Provisional Agreement, which critics say hands effective control of Catholic appointments to the Chinese Communist Party. This development signals a deepening compromise of church authority to a state power openly hostile to authentic Christian faith — a pattern Scripture warns will mark the last days, when institutional religion bends to worldly power rather than standing apart from it. Revelation 17 and 2 Timothy 3:5 speak of a form of godliness that has denied its power, and Matthew 24:24 warns of deception operating within religious structures in the end times.