Asia

ECCLESIA IN ASIA The renewal of the Sino-Vatican Agreement and the case of Tianjin

The meeting between the Vatican delegation and the Chinese authorities took place in a city that has not had an official bishop since 2006. Bishop Celli was able to meet with the bishop of the underground community, Monsignor Melchor Shi Hongzhen, 92 years old. Meanwhile, the report presented to the National Assembly of Chinese Catholic Representatives gives a figure for the number of Catholic churches in China: there are 4,202 and in the last six years 110,000 people have been baptized.

Milan () – Exactly one year after the last appointment of a bishop in China – Msgr. Cui Qingqi, bishop of Wuhan-Hankou ordained on September 8, 2021 – a Vatican delegation led by Msgr. Carlo Maria Celli met with the authorities of the People’s Republic of China in the city of Tianjin. The meeting was announced a few days ago by the Vatican Secretary of State, Card. Pietro Parolin, during an interview with an Italian television channel.

The central theme of the trip – which took place between the end of August and the beginning of September – was, obviously, the renewal of the Provisional Agreement on the appointment of bishops. Signed on October 22, 2018 for a period of two years, the agreement is about to expire. Pope Francis has publicly expressed his desire for it to be renewed, and has commented that the visit by the Vatican delegation had positive results. Therefore, it is easy to conclude that the renewal of the Agreement is practically sealed, although it will probably only be announced close to the expiration date. After all, Beijing is on the eve of the crucial meeting on October 16, the start date of the 20th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party. Therefore, it is unthinkable that there will be discussions about the understanding with the Vatican in the coming weeks, so crucial for defining the balance of internal power in the shadow of Xi Jinping.

Last April, in an interview with ACistampa, card. Parolin had said that he “hoped” the renewal would be an opportunity to “make clarifications or review some points” of the agreement. This leads us to ask ourselves: was the visit of the Vatican delegation to Tianjin an opportunity to achieve results in this regard? As the text has been secret from the beginning, it is difficult to give an answer; everything will probably become clear when the new appointments arrive. However, as pointed out Hong Kong Catholic blogger Lucia Cheung, there is also an internal Chinese situation that prevents us from expecting great news in this renewal of the Agreement. Earlier this year, the former head of the Religious Affairs Bureau, Wang Zuoan, resigned and Cui Maohu, a non-religious party official, took his place. In this context, the debates on substantive issues would have extended much more, postponing the issue until next year, which did not happen

In Tianjin -the metropolis of northern China- the most significant gesture for the Vatican delegation was the visit to Archbishop Melchor Shi Hongzhen. This 92-year-old bishop of the “underground” community was ordained as a coadjutor with the consent of the Holy See – ordered by his predecessor, Monsignor Stephen Li Side, deceased in 2019. Although the “official” episcopal see of Tianjin has been vacant since 2006, Monsignor Shi Honghzen has never been recognized by the Beijing authorities. The reason: his refusal to join the Patriotic Association-in fact, he was under house arrest for a long time.

The delegation led by Bishop Celli was able to meet with him, and even gave him a rosary in the name of the Pope. However, the great diocese of Tianjin remains an important test case for the Agreement on the Appointment of Bishops. Although the meeting seems to be a sign of openness towards the elderly prelate, the question of the new bishop remains tangled. As Lucia Cheung recalls on her blog, long before 2018, a local priest – Father Yang Wangwan – had been appointed by the Vatican as successor to the elderly Monsignor Shi Honghzen. But his name is not among the delegates sent by the Tianjin diocese to attend the recent 10th National Assembly of Chinese Catholic Representatives, which took place in Wuhan in August. Therefore, it is very difficult to imagine that he will soon be “officially appointed” in the leadership of the Tianjin Church.

Furthermore, as I had already observed on the occasion of the Wuhan Assembly, the “official” Church documents still make no reference to the existence of an agreement with the Holy See on the appointment of bishops. Precisely these days, the website of the official Catholic organizations controlled by the Beijing authorities – chinacatholic.cn – public the report that Archbishop Shen Bin presented in Wuhan. We refer to the bishop of Haimen (Jiangsu province), who was elected to lead the Council of Chinese Bishops (the collegiate body not recognized by the Holy See that supports the Patriotic Association of Chinese Catholics). In the text, the appointments of bishops of the last six years – the time elapsed since the previous Assembly – are presented as a completely autonomous process, guided by the Patriotic Association.

The report contains some interesting facts about the Chinese Church today: There are 98 dioceses in the country, with 4,202 churches and another 2,238 “active sites.” Bishop Shen Bin refers to the presence of 66 bishops, thus confirming the fact that at least a third of the dioceses are vacant. He adds that in the last six years, 289 new priests have been ordained, 161 new religious have made their profession and almost 110,000 new baptisms have been administered.

It is also worth mentioning other references to pastoral activities: in the last six years, 550,000 copies of the Bible have been printed and more than 100,000 free copies have been distributed in the poorest areas. Monsignor Shen Bin also mentions the initiatives carried out in several churches in the country on the occasion of the Year of the Family and the Year of Saint Joseph, two initiatives promoted by Pope Francis in the universal Church and which are also celebrated in mainland China. Finally, referring to the charitable activity of the Chinese Catholic communities, he explained that “according to incomplete statistics” the Churches of China assisted the needy with material aid estimated at at least 173 million yuan (24.6 million euros). .



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