Vatican renews its agreement with China for 4 more years, until 2028

The Vatican announced this Tuesday that it has renewed its agreement with China on the appointment of Catholic bishops for four more years.

The renewal comes days after a report of the Hudson Institute will detail how seven Catholic bishops in China have been detained without due process, while other bishops have experienced intense pressure, surveillance and police investigations since the Vatican – China agreement was first signed in 2018, six years ago.

With the extension, the Sino-Vatican agreement will remain in force until October 22, 2028.

The Vatican statement, published in Italian, English and Chinese, states that “the Vatican side remains with the intention of continuing the respectful and constructive dialogue with the Chinese side, for the development of bilateral relations for the good of the Catholic Church.” in the country and of all the Chinese people.”

The text also specifies that both parties agreed to extend the provisional agreement after “timely consultations and assessments.”

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian also confirmed the extension, noting that the two sides will maintain “contact and dialogue in a constructive spirit,” the Associated Press reports.

Originally signed in September 2018, the interim agreement was previously renewed for a two-year period in 2020 and again in October 2022.

The terms of the agreement have not been made public although Pope Francis said in 2023 that it includes a joint commission between the Chinese government and the Vatican for the appointment of Catholic bishops, overseen by the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

The dialogue between the Vatican and China has not always been smooth. The Holy See has acknowledged that China violated the terms of the agreement by unilaterally appointing Catholic bishops in Shanghai and the “diocese of Jiangxi,” a large ecclesiastical jurisdiction created by the Chinese government that is not recognized by the Vatican.

Pope Francis expressed his satisfaction with the ongoing dialogue with China during a press conference in September. However, Vatican Foreign Minister Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher has been more cautious, noting that it is “not the best possible agreement” and highlighting ongoing efforts to improve its implementation.

Since 2018, “about 10 bishops” have been appointed and consecrated under the terms of the agreement between China and the Vatican, according to Vatican News.

According to Asia News, this Friday it will be installed a new coadjutor bishop of Beijingin agreement with the Vatican. The coadjutor bishop would be only five years younger than the current archbishop of Beijing, Joseph Li Shan (59), who is still more than 15 years away from reaching the usual retirement age (75) for Catholic bishops.

In August, the Chinese government officially recognized Bishop Melchior Shi Hongzhen, 95, a former underground bishop. The Vatican described this recognition as a “positive fruit of dialogue” with Beijing.

Human rights advocates have criticized the Vatican’s silence on religious freedom violations in China during its negotiations, including the internment of Uyghur Muslims and the imprisonment of democracy advocates such as Catholic Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong.

According a recent report of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), Chinese officials have ordered the removal of crosses from churches and have replaced images of Christ and the Virgin Mary with images of President Xi Jinping.

USCIRF also reports that the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) “Sinicization of Religion” campaign has led to the censoring of religious texts, forcing clergy to preach CCP ideology, and requiring the display of CCP slogans in churches. .

“While some Catholics choose to worship legally within the state-controlled Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, they are certainly not free as they must comply with the CCP’s harsh control and interference mechanisms,” said USCIRF commissioner, Asif Mahmood, a CNA —EWTN’s English agency—earlier this month.

“Ultimately, the Chinese government is only interested in instilling unwavering obedience and devotion to the CCP, its political agenda, and its vision of religion, not in protecting the religious freedom rights of Catholics,” he warned.

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