Synod of Synodality 2024 has been an occasion for the meeting of bishops from China and Taiwan

The Synod of Synodality, which was conceived as a moment of encounter and dialogue for the universal Church, has also provided a place for Catholic bishops from mainland China and Taiwan to meet.

The Bishop of Chiayi, Bishop Norbert Pu, is the first natural prelate of Taiwan. He is a member of the Tsou community and has translated liturgical texts into the Tsou language. He is 66 years old and is a delegate to the Synod representing the Chinese Regional Episcopal Conference of Taiwan.

In an interview with CNA, the English agency of EWTN News, Bishop Pu said that what interests him most is to meet the different bishops, cardinals and synod delegates from other parts of the world who have arrived at the Vatican for the second session of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of Bishops.

In that sense, he noted that he had already met with the two bishops from mainland China participating in the Synod and that he plans to meet them again. “It is very important to dialogue with them, to respect each other. I think it is good… not only for the Chinese, but for the entire Church,” said the Taiwanese bishop.

For his part, the Bishop of Jining, Bishop Antonio Yao Shun, is the first prelate consecrated in China under the terms of the Sino-Vatican agreement. He had already represented the Church in China at the 2023 synodal assembly together with Archbishop Joseph Yang Yongqiang, before both they will leave suddenly without giving explanations.

Bishop Yao has said that many of the participants in last year’s synod assembly “showed interest in the development of the Church in China, eager to know more and to pray for us.”

The Synod also provided an opportunity for bishops from the People’s Republic of China to spend time with the Bishop of Hong Kong, Cardinal Stephen Chow.

During the 2023 synodal assembly, the cardinal and the two bishops even made a brief trip to Naples and celebrated a mass in the church of the Holy Family of the Chinese, a temple built in 1732 as part of an institute founded by Pope Clement XII to train Chinese seminarians and teach missionaries the Chinese language to help with the evangelization of China.

A new synodal delegate from China

For the 2024 assembly, Bishop Yao has been replaced by the Bishop of Mindong, Bishop Vincent Zhan Silu, whose diocese is located in the southern Chinese province of Fujian.

For his part, Bishop Zhan Silu, 63, had been excommunicated for having been ordained bishop in Beijing in 2000, without the approval of Pope Saint John Paul II. His excommunication was lifted in 2018 when the Vatican signed the historic provisional agreement with the Chinese government on the appointment of bishops.

When Cardinal Mario Grech was asked why Bishop Yao had been replaced by Bishop Zhan Silu, the secretary general of the Synod responded: “The Secretariat of State communicated the names to us, but we have no more information about it,” according to Asia News.

Without Bishop Yao, Archbishop Yang, 54, is the most senior of the Synod among the two Chinese bishops. Since participating in last year’s synodal assembly, Bishop Yang has been transferred to the Archdiocese of Hangzhou, a change that occurred “within the framework of the dialogue” of the provisional agreement with China, according to the Vatican. The transfer elevated him to the rank of archbishop.

Bishop Yang was ordained bishop with Vatican approval in 2010 and served as Bishop of Zhoucun in Shandong Province, mainland China, from 2013 to June 2024.

He participated in the 2023 National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, a political advisory body that is part of the united front system of the Chinese Communist Party, where it was decided that the Catholic Church should integrate its thinking with the party and unite more closely to President Xi Jinping, according to the official website of the Catholic Patriotic Association.

Bishops Zhan Silu and Yang are among the 368 voting delegates at the second synodal assembly taking place at the Vatican from October 2 to 27.

The Synod takes place amid ongoing dialogue between Beijing and Rome over the appointment of bishops. The Vatican has not yet announced whether it has renewed the provisional agreement with China for the third time. The document was signed for the first time in 2018.

Vatican-Taiwan relations

During the first week of the assembly, some Synod delegates took a break from the day’s meetings to join in the celebration of Taiwan’s 113th National Day, at a reception hosted by the Embassy of the Republic of China to the Holy Headquarters, just down the street from St. Peter’s Basilica.

Vatican City State is the only remaining country in Europe that recognizes Taiwan as a country.

The Holy See has had formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan – formally called the Republic of China (ROC) – since 1922, while the Catholic Church has not had an official diplomatic presence in the mainland People’s Republic of China (PRC) since it was officially expelled by Beijing in 1951.

The island of Taiwan, less than 110 miles off the coast of China and home to a population of more than 23 million people, has maintained a vibrant democracy with strong civil liberties, despite growing pressure from Beijing over the status of the island.

Unlike mainland China—where images of Christ and the Virgin Mary have been replaced by photos of Xi Jinping— According to a report published last week, Catholics in Taiwan enjoy religious freedom, which is enshrined in their Constitution.

More than 10,000 people attended the National Eucharistic Congress in Taiwan last weekend, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Pope Francis sent a message expressing his desire that the event “awaken in the hearts of the Christian faithful a true worship and love for the Eucharist.”

Bishop Pu told CNA that the congress presented an opportunity for more people in Taiwan to learn about the Eucharist and its central importance to the Catholic faith.

“We hope that we can always maintain this formal and good relationship with the Vatican. Because for Taiwan this is very important. We hope the world sees it because Taiwan is a democratic and free country, respected by other nations,” said Bishop Pu.

Translated and adapted by the ACI Prensa team. Originally published in CNA.