Where is Ockham When we Really Need Him?

 In the China Digital Times they note:

The Vatican has decided to extend a secret 2018 agreement with Beijing that governs the appointment of bishops in China. The 2018 Sino-Vatican deal, signed in the midst of crackdowns on religious expression, is believed to give Beijing the power to appoint Catholic bishops, pending the Pope’s final approval. This follows news that Chinese hackers gained access to Vatican networks before the start of negotiations on the deal’s extension. For the AP, Nicole Winfield reported on the consensus reached by the Pope and the Pope Emeritus on the perceived necessity of a deal with China...The P.R.C. is seemingly content with the deal. Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Zhao Lijian said, “the interim agreement on the appointment of bishops between China and the Vatican has been implemented successfully.” In a speech delivered on the 150th anniversary of Italian Catholic missionaries’ arrival in China, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State, argued that the deal was purely pastoral, not political, and that it would prevent the illegal ordination of bishops by Chinese authorities.

Avignon, when the Church had three or more simultaneous "Popes" was the last time we saw countries control the Church. It was Ockham who saw this as a sign of heresy and frankly he had a point. The Bishop of Rome and the PRC seem to walk arm in arm as contrast to John Paul II.