The Chinese government has recognized two “clandestine” bishops, that is, faithful to Rome and appointed by the Pope, but according to the agency Asia Newsspecialized in news of the Catholic Church in the Asian continent, would be promoting a “narrative” that generates tensions among Catholics.
The first to be recognized by Beijing was Mons. José Ma Yanen, 65, so far Xiwanzi clandestine bishop, who is now auxiliary bishop of the new Diocese of Zhangjakou, in the province of Hebei.
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In that diocese and two days ago, by the Vatican and China Agreement on the appointment of Bishops- firmed in 2018 and renewed until 2028- between the People’s Republic of China and the Holy See, Bishop Giuseppe Wang Zhengui, the “official” priest- affected the Chinese government- who already directed for a while and in practice, what Beijing considered the local church.
The second recognized bishop has been Mons. Agostino Cui Tai, 75, so far Bishop of Xuanhua – the other diocese suppressed by Pope Leo XIV to create the diocese of Zhangjiakou – and “symbolic figure of the sufferings of clandestine communities with repeated arrests in recent years.”
According to Asia News, this recognition has been “just because, with the appointment of Mons. Wang Zenghui, the Vatican considers Mons. Cui Tai as Bishop Emeritus.”
The Asia News agency, of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions, also specifies that “the official agencies of the local Catholic community have reported on the two ceremonies that were held this morning.”
The Vatican published a declaration from the director of his press office, Matteo Bruni, who points out that these awards “have been received with satisfaction” and that they are “the result of the dialogue between the Holy See and the Chinese authorities” since “they constitute an important step in the community path of the new diocese.”
Asia News indicates that Mons. José Ma Yanen has been a bishop since January 2013, so his appointment goes back to Pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI and “had never been recognized by the Beijing authorities.”
The official Chinese statement indicates that the prelate would have “solemnly swore to respect the constitution and laws of the country, safeguard national unity and social harmony, love the homeland and the Church, to sustain the principle of independence and self -management of the Church, adhere to the without Catholicism in China and contribute to the complete construction of a modern socialist country and the global promotion of the Great Renaissance of the Chinese Nation.”
In the case of Mons. Cui Tai, Asia News indicates that the “retirement” ceremony of the bishop occurred in the presence of 50 people and that it would have sworn something similar to what Mons. Ma Yanen is said.
For the agency specialized in the Catholic Church in Asia, such an oath seems full of “words seem unlikely for a prelate like Mons. Cui Tai, which from 1993 until today has passed repeated periods in jail or in other situations in which he was deprived of his freedom precisely to prevent him from exercising his ministry, first as a priest and then as a clandestine bishop, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is, that is not registered in the official bodies Chinese communist ”.
Asia News also denounces that “Beijing is using the obedience of Mons. Cui Tai to the will of the Holy See to show that he has won his battle in this Hebei region. And by virtue of this narrative, some members of the local Catholic communities are atmosphere harsh of lack of value ”.
Asianews sources, which are maintained in anonymity, point out that Mons. Cui Tai never pronounced those words of support for the autonomy of the Church in China. “He is a man of full faith,” they say.
The Vatican Agreement – China
In October 2024, the Vatican announced the renewal of its agreement with China on the appointment of Catholic bishops until 2028.
The renewal occurred a few days after A report of the Hudson Institute will detail how seven Catholic bishops in China They were arrested without due process, while other bishops have experienced intense pressure, surveillance and police investigations since the Vatican – China Agreement was signed for the first time in 2018.
Shortly after the firm, Pope Francis said in this regard: “I have signed the agreement.” “I am responsible. The others that I have named in everything have worked for more than ten years. It is not an improvisation, but it is a path, a true path,” explained the Argentine pontiff.
Fr. Bernardo Cerverllera, director of Asia News, then wrote that “for optimists the provisional agreement is ‘historical’; for pessimists it is the beginning of total evil selling the church to the” Chinese communist party.
Walter Sánchez Silva
I am husband since 2008. With my wife we have three children here and one who went to heaven in 2023, before birth. Since I joined ACI Press in 2005, I have had the opportunity to cover various events of the Catholic Church. Among them, the World Youth Days in Colonia, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro and the apostolic trips of Pope Benedict XVI to Mexico and Pope Francis to South Korea. I have been sent to the Vatican to cover the family’s synods, in 2015; of the Amazon, in 2019 and that of Sinodality, in 2023. I follow the situation of the Catholic Church in Nicaragua, which suffers the persecution of the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega, as well as the ecclesial news in the region.