The editorial director’s comment Fr. Gianni Criveller, on the renewal of the Agreement between Rome and Beijing for the appointment of bishops. “The sobriety with which it has communicated demonstrates awareness of the underlying problems, which remain serious. After the 2023 crisis, China avoided pulling the rope until it was cut and today the climate seems to have improved. Give up the narrow path of dialogue would not bring any benefit”.
Milan () – Beijing and Rome announced yesterday that the Provisional Agreement on the Appointment of Bishops between the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China – signed in 2018 and renewed in 2020 and 2022 – has been extended for four years. The most significant novelty is the extension of the number of years, which is no longer two but four. It is a compromise: perhaps China would have preferred a definitive confirmation; perhaps the Holy See would have preferred to renew it for two years. The agreement was not modified or made public, although the Vatican would probably have preferred to ‘improve’ it and make it public. In fact, it is known that the idea of the Holy See is that the agreement is a starting point and not an arrival point, and that it opens the way for improvements and progress. And “secrecy” plays, on the contrary, in favor of misleading representations of the agreement by those responsible for religious policy; in the past there were and forced the Holy See to issue a “clarifying” note on the civil registry of the clergy on June 28, 2019. And the need to improve the agreement, or clarify it, became especially evident after the serious incident on April 4, 2023, when Bishop Shen Bin was transferred to Shanghai without the consent of the Pope. At that time the Holy See also intervened with an unusually harsh statement.
In recent months some dignitaries of the Holy See and Francis himself had expressed some confidence: the dialogue had resumed and was bearing some positive fruits. Therefore, it seems to us that, after the serious crisis of 2023, China has avoided pulling the rope until it breaks. And that the words of the October 22 statement about the “consensus reached for a fruitful implementation” may refer to this.
As already announced another appointment is expected in the next few hours: Mateo Zhen will be coadjutor bishop of Beijing and ordination is scheduled for October 25. The bishop of Beijing, Li Shan, is only 59 years old. Perhaps he suffers from some health problems, perhaps he is very busy as president of the Patriotic Association, perhaps Bishop Zhen, who is only 54 years old and speaks English, is more prepared for international contacts. In any case, this appointment shields, so to speak, the diocese of Beijing for at least 20 years.
It is difficult to know whether the results obtained so far with the agreement are satisfactory. They are enough for the Vatican, but not for those who point out that there are thirty dioceses, a third of the total, that remain without a bishop. The agreement has a single topic, and is precisely focused on the concern of the Holy See to offer the Catholic faithful, if not freedom, at least pastoral leadership and government in accordance with the tradition of the Church.
Perhaps that is why – unless our interpretation is erroneous – the statement from the Holy See and the official interventions of the Vatican are more sober and prudent than on the three previous occasions (2018, 2020, 2022). There is talk of “timely consultations and evaluations” that preceded the renewal: doubts expressed inside and outside China about the operation of the agreement have certainly reached the Holy See.
Without a doubt, Pope Francis is personally involved in the process that led to this agreement and knows its limits and even its risks, as he has clearly stated in some interviews. However, he does not give up his confidence in the goodness of dialogue and remains convinced that one day it will bear fruit. I believe that the Pope does not stop in the face of difficulties because he wants to win his interlocutors with generosity, counting on the loyalty of men of good will and the common dignity of humanity.
However, serious problems remain. Let me recall a few: religious and political freedom; the application, often harsh, of norms that limit the practice of faith; unwanted bishops and priests kept under surveillance and prevented from moving freely; the rhetoric of Sinicization that wreaks havoc on all public ecclesiastical discourses; the policy of reducing the number of dioceses and restructuring their borders based on administrative needs, but to the detriment of papal prerogatives; the formation of bishops, priests and lay people. To give a concrete example: first-appointed bishops from all over the world gather in Rome for a few weeks of formation and fraternization among themselves, but Chinese bishops are excluded.
No one can think that an agreement can solve such serious problems by itself. I am convinced that the Holy See is aware of this and would have liked a sincere negotiation that would bring improvements and include other important issues for a free ecclesial life, such as the opening of a stable presence in Beijing.
The regularization of diplomatic relations is an issue that is occasionally mentioned but remains extremely sensitive, as it affects the fate of Taiwan. We were positively surprised by the fact that the Pope sent Hong Kong Cardinal Emeritus John Tong as his representative to the Eucharistic Congress in Taiwan, which took place in Kaohsiung on October 5. At a delicate moment for the future of the island, this gesture may mean that for the Holy See, Taiwan is not an annoying inheritance or an obstacle, but rather a reality, also ecclesial, that deserves respect and consideration.
The dialogue with Beijing continues. It is not an easy commitment nor do the alternatives offer better guarantees. The Holy See seems convinced that giving up the narrow path of dialogue and agreement would not bring any advantage. We, who love the Church and follow the Pope, hope that the next four years of agreement will be for “the good of the Catholic Church in the country and of all the Chinese people.”
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