Vatican-China deal gives the nod to regime bishops
The Vatican has signed a historic agreement with Beijing over the appointment of Catholic bishops in China.
The Vatican has signed a historic agreement with Beijing over the appointment of Catholic bishops in China, which Pope Francis hopes will “allow the wounds of the past to be overcome, leading to the full communion of Chinese Catholics”.
But statements released at the weekend by the Vatican and the Chinese government raise more questions, given recent crackdowns by Chinese officials on underground churches and stricter censorship moves under President Xi Jinping’s administration.
The agreement will see Francis recognise the clerics who have been “ordained” by the Chinese government, without the approval of the Vatican, readmitting them to “full ecclesial communion”.
The South China Morning Post said that the deal would also see Beijing recognise some, but not all, of the Chinese bishops previously appointed by the Holy See.
The deal was signed in Beijing on Saturday at a meeting between the Vatican’s undersecretary for relations with states Antoine Camilleri, and Wang Chao, China’s vice-minister for foreign affairs, although the text of the agreement was not released.
In a statement, the Vatican said it had reached a “provisional agreement” with China on “the nomination of bishops, a question of great importance for the life of the church”. It said the agreement would also help “create conditions for greater collaboration at the bilateral level.”
China’s Foreign Ministry said “China and the Vatican will continue with their communication to promote advancement and progress in bilateral relations”.
The agreement is not expected to see any immediate change in the diplomatic situation. China and the Vatican have not had formal diplomatic relations since 1951. The Vatican still officially recognises Taiwan, the only jurisdiction in Europe still to do so.
The Vatican said the “provisional deal” concerned the appointment of bishops and was “not political but pastoral”.
China has an estimated 12 million Catholics. They belong either to the government-run Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, whose clergy have been chosen by the communist party, or the underground church that swears allegiance to the Vatican.
There are about 65 Communist Party-appointed bishops and 36 in the underground church appointed by the Vatican.
The deal has been hailed by some commentators as being the first time the Chinese government has recognised the status of the pope. But it comes at a time of increasing concern at the crackdown on underground churches.
Retired Hong Kong cardinal Joseph Zen, a vocal critic of the negotiating process, castigated the lack of transparency over the deal, asking why the full text had not been released and why it was described as “provisional”.
In an outburst late last week, Cardinal Zen had described the negotiations as an “incredible betrayal” of China’s Catholics.
“They’re giving the flock to the mouths of wolves,” he said.
The 86-year-old former bishop of Hong Kong said there were strong divisions in the underground church, predicting that only half would accept the agreement.
Cardinal Zen has called for the resignation of Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin who has been leading the negotiations, criticising him as a “good diplomat in a very secular, mundane meaning” whom, he said, did not have any faith.
Chinese officials closed down one of Beijing’s largest underground churches, the Zion Church, earlier this month, saying it had not been registered. This followed the church’s refusal to agree to requests by Chinese authorities to install CCTV cameras in the church which has had up to 1600 people attending its services.
The church’s pastor, Jin Mingri accused the authorities of “using the tactics from the former Soviet Union”
The Vatican said the agreement with Beijing was “the fruit of gradual and reciprocal rapprochement” which “had been agreed following a long process of careful negotiation”.
The government introduced regulations on religious practice in February which increased scrutiny of religious activities. Control of religious affairs was brought under the Communist Party’s United Front Work Department.
More recent moves have involved a crackdown on having prayers or preaching online.
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