When you think about cyber espionage, the Vatican doesn't come to mind as an obvious target. It's a tiny country whose leader has more moral authority than worldly power. But China and the Vatican are expected to begin sensitive negotiations in September to a renew a secret deal over control of the Catholic Church in China. Chinese leaders may have been looking for an advantage -- inside knowledge on how the Holy See planned to approach the bargaining table, according to a report released Tuesday by Recorded Future, a threat intelligence firm. "Our research uncovered a suspected China state-sponsored campaign targeting multiple high-profile entities associated with the Catholic Church ahead of the likely renewal of the provisional China-Vatican deal in September 2020," analysts at Recorded Future wrote in a report released  Targeting the Vatican, the report continued, was part of China's ongoing plan to seize control of the country's underground Catholic church, whose leaders are not approved by the state-run China Patriotic Association.