By Phil Lawler, Catholic Culture - Why did the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) choose this week, during the papal interregnum, to announce the “election” of new Catholic bishops without papal approval, in apparent* violation of their secret agreement with the Vatican?... Let’s start with the most obvious explanation. The CCP realizes that the new Pope might not be as accommodating as Pope Francis. So rather than wait, nominate a candidate, and have the new Pope refuse to confirm the choice, they acted now to create a fait accompli. You can imagine the explanation: “Well, we would have asked for papal approval, but there was no Pope to ask.”