"Terrorism certainly finds fertile ground in poverty, lack of jobs, and social marginalization", he said, adding that since World War II, Europe has tried to "free itself" from its cultural heritage and values, and this has created a vacuum in which young people cannot find the answers to their existential questions. In 2017, Parolin became the Vatican's first Secretary of State in 19 years to visit Moscow. In a 2018 interview, Cardinal Joseph Zen said "Pope Francis does not know the real Communist Party in China, but Parolin should know. He was there [in the Secretariat of State] so many years, so he must know. He may be happy to encourage the pope to be optimistic about the negotiations ... but that's dangerous. Pope Francis needs someone to calm him down from his enthusiasm." He added that "It seems the Secretary of State wants to have a solution anyway. He is so optimistic. That's dangerous. I told the pope that he [Parolin] has a poisoned mind. He is very sweet, but I have no trust in this person. He believes in diplomacy, not in our faith." Parolin countered that "no personal point of view can be considered as an exclusive interpreter of what is good for Chinese Catholics" and said: "If someone is asked to make a sacrifice, small or great, it must be clear to everyone that this is not the price of a political exchange, but falls within the evangelical perspective of a greater good, the good of the Church of Christ." Parolin has been called "papabile", a candidate to succeed Francis as pope. Pope Francis raised him to the rank of Cardinal Bishop effective 28 June 2018. In October 2018, Cardinal Parolin said that, Paul VI rejected a version of Humane Vitae that “was limited to a rigorous reaffirmation of doctrine to which Christians and all people were asked to adhere docilely and without reservation,” Pos publication debates, Cardinal Parolin said, made it impossible for many people to see its accent on mercy. In 2019, Cardinal defending the Holy See-China agreement on the appointment of bishops, “We signed this agreement to help advance religious freedom, to find normalization for the Catholic community there, and then for all other religions to have space and a role to play in society which is recognized,” Parolin told journalists 3 April. Steve Bannon said he may lead a lawsuit to compel the Holy See to release the text of the deal under the terms of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.