In 2018, Pope Francis and the Vatican signed an agreement with the Chinese Communists that, among other things, gives both sides a say in the appointment of bishops. This agreement was ignored by Beijing three months ago when they unilaterally named Bishop Joseph Shen Bin to lead the Diocese of Shanghai.
Instead of standing up to the Beijing bullies, Francis gave in and announced on Saturday that he had accepted the Communist’s appointment despite Beijing’s blatant violation of the 2018 accord.
The Church in China is sharply divided between the “official” Catholic Church sanctioned by the government and an “underground” church that follows the Vatican. It puts Francis in a difficult position, but is he so naive as to believe that every time he gives in, the Communists won’t take advantage and push the agreement a little farther?
Cardinal Joseph Zen, a former bishop of Hong Kong, and other critics have complained that the agreement is “a betrayal of the country’s underground Catholics loyal to the pope,” according to the Wall Street Journal.
The “official” Catholics have very little freedom.
Religious groups have been required to revise their practices and teaching in accordance with Communist Party doctrine and to develop what Xi has called “socialist religious theories with Chinese characteristics” through a process of “sinicization.”
The Vatican has acknowledged that the results of the deal have been meager so far. Only a handful of new Chinese bishops have been ordained under the agreement since 2018.
Last November, the Vatican accused Beijing of violating the deal by transferring Bishop John Peng Weizhao from his Vatican-approved post as bishop of Yujiang to a new role as auxiliary bishop of Jiangxi, a diocese not recognized by the Vatican.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Cardinal Secretary of State, said that Pope Francis wanted to “remedy the canonical irregularity created in Shanghai, in view of the greater good of the diocese and the fruitful exercise of the bishop’s pastoral ministry.”
“Canonical irregularity”? It’s important to properly prostrate oneself when paying homage to the Mandarins in China.
Related: FBI Wants to Deny Catholic Advocacy Group Access to Spying Records
Parolin said that the Pope’s “intention is fundamentally pastoral” and will allow the bishop to “work with greater serenity to promote evangelization and foster ecclesial communion.”
In other words, Francis is waving a big white flag and will now write a “strongly worded letter” to let the Chinese Communists know they can continue to walk all over him and the Catholic Church.
In an interview with Vatican News published with the announcement of the Chinese bishop’s appointment, Cardinal Parolin underlined that it is “indispensable, that all episcopal appointments in China, including transfers, be made by consensus, as agreed, and keeping alive the spirit of dialogue” between the Holy See and China.
The Holy See first entered into a provisional two-year agreement with Beijing on the appointment of bishops in 2018, which was renewed in 2020 and again in 2022.
One month after the Holy See agreed to renew the deal last October, the Vatican said that Chinese authorities violated the terms stipulated in the agreement by installing Bishop John Peng Weizhao as an “auxiliary bishop of Jiangxi,” a diocese that is not recognized by the Vatican.
There are 10-12 million Catholics in China, and the Vatican apparently feels little responsibility to stand up for them in their bid to win the freedom of worship. “Indeed, the dialogue between the Vatican side and the Chinese side remains open and I believe that it is a path that is in some way obligatory,” Parolin said.
As long as the Chinese see that “obligation” going one way, nothing is likely to change.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member