The Vatican and the communist regime in Beijing have renewed for two years a historic agreement reached in 2018 on the thorny issue of the appointment of bishops in China, the Holy See announced on Saturday.
“The Holy See and the People’s Republic of China, after appropriate consultations and evaluations, have agreed to extend for two years the validity of the provisional agreement on the appointment of bishops, signed on September 22, 2018” and renewed for the first time in 2020, the Vatican announced in a statement.
This “provisional” agreement was intended to reunite Catholics divided between the official and underground churches, while giving the Pope the last word in the appointment of Chinese bishops. A total of six prelates have been elected since the entry into force of the agreement.
An agreement that “takes into account the characteristics of China”
The Vatican “intends to continue the respectful and constructive dialogue with China, for the fruitful implementation of the agreement and for the further development of bilateral relations, with a view to promoting the mission of the Catholic Church and the well-being of the Chinese people.” “.
“The procedure provided for by the agreement has been carefully studied, taking into account the particular characteristics of Chinese history and society and the developments (…) of the Church in China,” commented Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State and No. 2 of the Holy See, in an interview with the official Vatican media.
In view of the “numerous situations of heartbreak in which Catholic communities have sometimes found themselves in recent decades”, “it seemed prudent and judicious to take into account both the needs expressed by the country’s authorities and the needs of Catholic communities, ” He explained.
Fight against an underground Church
After the split between China and the Vatican in the 1950s, China’s estimated 10 million Catholics were divided between an official Church, controlled by Beijing, and an underground Church.
Under the terms of the agreement announced in 2018, Pope Francis agreed to recognize the appointment of seven bishops appointed by the Chinese government without their agreement.
According to the faithful, the suppression of the underground Church has not abated since the rapprochement between China and the Vatican, while the regime of President Xi Jinping appears to be increasing surveillance of all cults.
In recent years, churches have been destroyed, crosses have been removed from bell towers and nativity scenes have been closed.
Source: BFM TV
