China and Vatican Reach Agreement on Bishop Appointments

By Serena Lu

The Chinese government and the Vatican signed a provisional deal to reconcile the ongoing dispute over the appointment of bishops on September 22. In the agreement, the Chinese government officially recognized the pope as the head of the Catholic Church in return for the power to nominate all future bishops. Although it was not immediately clear whether the Vatican or the Chinese government would have the final say in bishop appointments, Pope Francis announced in a September 25 press conference that he would still be the final arbiter.

Since 1957, when the Chinese government first established the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (CCPA), the Catholic community in China has been split between underground churches run by locally-appointed bishops recognized by the Vatican, and the state-supervised CCPA, run by government-appointed bishops, many unrecognized by the Vatican. This rift represents a larger philosophical dispute, with some underground churchgoers accusing CCPA members of selling out, while CCPA members insist that cooperation with the government is the only viable future for Catholicism in China. However, as Dr. Anthony E. Clark, a scholar of Chinese history, notes in the Catholic World Report, there is still a sizeable overlap between these two communities, with bishops from both communities working together to promote Catholicism.

The agreement is an attempt to bridge these two communities. The Vatican lifted the excommunications of seven previously unrecognized bishops appointed by the Chinese government, recognizing them as official bishops. In turn, the Vatican required that previous Vatican-approved bishops operating underground to discontinue their practices. According to the New York Times, Greg Burke, spokesman for the Vatican, said that the purpose of the deal was to “[allow] the faithful to have bishops who are in communion with Rome but at the same time recognized by Chinese authorities.”

This deal comes on the heels of the Chinese government’s escalating crackdown on officially tolerated religions, including Protestantism, Buddhism, Islam, Daoism, and Catholicism. Crux reports that as part of a recent drive by the government to sinicize religion, government agents have torn down crosses and demolished Catholic churches and pilgrimage sites. The government has also threatened churchgoers by withholding welfare benefits and expelling children from schools. In what Hong Kong Cardinal Joseph Zen labels as “an incredible betrayal,” the deal neither addresses the government’s persecution of Catholics, nor addresses the fates of over a dozen Catholic bishops and priests in detainment, according to the Epoch Times.

It is unclear how this agreement will affect the Vatican’s relationship with Taiwan. According to the Epoch Times, Matthew Lee, Taiwan’s ambassador to the Vatican, claimed that the deal was a part of China’s effort to “[make] the Taiwan people irrelevant.” Although the Vatican has assured that the deal would not affect its diplomatic relationship with Taiwan, the Epoch Times reported that many diplomats see the deal as a signal of replacing Beijing for Taipei.

Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry released its own statement on the deal: “Taiwan trusts that the Holy See has made appropriate arrangements to ensure that Catholic adherents in China will receive due protection and not be subject to repression.”