The investiture comes with a letter from the Council of Chinese Bishops, a body not recognized by the Holy See and linked to the Communist Party. Consternation of the faithful. The new pastor promises to continue the “sinicization” of Catholicism in China. Analysts: The Holy See wanted the return of Mons. Jose Xing Wenzhi.
Rome () – Mgr Shen Bin is the new bishop of Shanghai. Such as anticipated yesterday , the inauguration ceremony was held today. The appointment letter comes from the Council of Chinese Bishops, led by Mons. Shen. It should be remembered that this body is not recognized by the Holy See and submits to the Chinese Communist Party (PCC). The origin of the investiture suggests that the (official) Chinese patriotic Church has not agreed on the election with the Vatican.
in dialogue with Vatican sources reported that the appointment is “unilateral”, since it does not have papal approval. This was also indirectly confirmed by the Catholic faithful in China, who expressed sadness at the investiture: the appointment came without a mandate from the Pope and is a source of great discontent in the Shanghai Catholic community.
Based on the Sino-Vatican agreement of 2018 -subsequently renewed in October 2020 and 2022-, the election of the new Chinese bishops must be a decision agreed upon by the Holy See and the authorities in Beijing. In November, the Vatican had denounced the violation of the agreement by the Chinese authorities with the appointment of Monsignor Juan Peng Weizhao as auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Jiangxi. Now there is also the question of the diocese of Haimen (Jiangsu), of which Monsignor Shen was parish priest, an ordination that obtained papal recognition in 2010.
According to information that circulated on the Chinese messaging site wechat, Archbishop Shen declared today that he will continue the tradition of “patriotism and love” in the Church of Shanghai. In a strong reference to the Party’s dictates, he stressed that he will abide by the principle of independence and self-management, and will continue to carry out efforts to “sinicize” Catholicism in China.
Chinese faithful say Bishop Shen is not wanted in Shanghai. Some accuse him of having requested a large cash donation when he ordained priests in the diocese. The incident dates back to June 2021: the ordinands were five, but the government rejected one (a deacon).
The episcopal seat of Shanghai had been vacant for 10 years. The bishop recognized by the Vatican and the government, Monsignor Ma Daqin, is under house arrest in the Sheshan seminary for having dared to resign from the Patriotic Association immediately after his episcopal ordination. Although he later returned to the PCC dependent body, the government did not want to recognize him as bishop of the diocese.
The Agreement between China and the Vatican not only has not put an end to the persecution of Catholics, especially the unofficial ones (known as “undergrounds” or clandestines), but it also does not seem to offer guarantees regarding the election of bishops. According to some analysts, the Vatican wanted Msgr. Joseph Xing Wenzhi to lead the diocese of Shanghai. Prior to Bishop Ma’s appointment, he was an auxiliary bishop, but he resigned in 2012 for reasons that remain to be clarified.
