A bishop with a history of supporting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) emphasized in a recent diocesan seminar the influence of the socialist state on the Church more than that of the Vatican, according to some Catholics who attended the dialogues with the prelate.
Mons. Joseph Shen Bin, Bishop Shanghaiwho was illicitly installed as bishop by the Chinese civil authorities in 2023 and who returned to communion with the Catholic Church following a decision by Pope Francis a year later, within the framework of the agreement between the Vatican and China renewed last October, was featured as speaker at a Vatican conference in May, where he promoted a “Chinese-style modernization” of the Catholic Church, in line with socialist ideals.
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Recently, Bishop Shen gave a diocesan seminar from November 4 to 6 on the “Sinicization of religion in Shanghai.” According to a report by Bitter Winterthe Catholics of that Chinese city who attended the seminar said that the bishop “did not speak at all about the Vatican Synod of Synodality, nor about Pope Francis or his recent documents.”
Instead, several sources said, Bishop Shen “focused on ‘Sinicization,’ which as is now clear does not mean adapting the religion to Chinese customs, but to the ideology of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party).”
“An optimist might object that Bishop Shen Bin did not explicitly tell Catholics that they ‘do not’ listen to the Pope’s teachings, that they oppose the CCP’s ideas on key issues such as abortion and the role of religion in society. But for a bishop, ignoring the Pope and his documents in such solemn events is equivalent to rejecting them,” said Bitter Winter, a publication that focuses on the persecution of Christians in China.
Since coming to power in 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered the “Sinicization” of all religions in China, a move that the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has called “a far-reaching strategy to control, govern and manipulate all aspects of the faith in a socialist mold infused with ‘Chinese characteristics’.”
Bishop Shen in his November conference also reportedly emphasized the need for stricter cooperation with the United Front Work Department, which is in charge of controlling and supervising the “official” religion in China.
A recent analysis published by the USCIRF asserts that the Chinese Communist Party’s “Sinicization of religion” policy systematically violates the internationally protected right to religious freedom. The term Sinicization means adapting to Chinese culture, but the policy essentially subordinates confessions to “the CCP’s political agenda and its Marxist vision of religion,” the report says.
According to the report, Chinese authorities have ordered the removal of crosses from churches and replaced images of Christ and the Virgin Mary with images of Xi. They have also censored religious texts, forced clergy members to preach CCP ideology, and ordered the display of CCP slogans in Catholic churches.
Bishop Shen has publicly supported the President Xi’s religion sinicization programand in 2023 stated that Sinicization is “a sign and direction for adapting to socialist society, as well as an inherent rule and fundamental requirement for the survival and development of the Catholic Church in China itself.”
The prelate also emphasized then that Catholic teaching must “align” with the party’s ideology.
“The religious freedom policy implemented by the Chinese government has no interest in changing the Catholic faith, but only hopes that the Catholic clergy and faithful defend the interests of the Chinese people and free themselves from the control of foreign powers,” Mons said. Shen in his speech in May this year at the Vatican, where he appeared alongside Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
In China, Catholic priests can only carry out their ministry in recognized places of worship, to which minors under 18 years of age are not allowed.
Religious groups in China have been prohibited from conducting any virtual religious activities without first requesting, and receiving, approval from the provincial Department of Religious Affairs.
The Communist Party’s efforts to control religion are not limited to Catholics, but also extend to Protestants, Muslims, Taoists, Buddhists, and followers of Chinese folk religions.
Translated and adapted by the ACI Prensa team. Originally published in CNA.
Jonah McKeown
Jonah McKeown is a writer and podcast producer for Catholic News Agency. He has a master’s degree from the University of Missouri School of Journalism and has worked as a writer, radio producer and videographer.