ROME – On Tuesday, Vatican and Chinese authorities announced they had extended a controversial agreement on episcopal appointments for a third time, this time for four years instead of the customary two.
An Oct. 22 Vatican statement said that “In light of the consensus reached for an effective application of the Provisional Agreement regarding the Appointment of Bishops, after appropriate consultation and assessment, the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China have agreed to extend further its validity for four years from the present date.”
“The Vatican Party remains dedicated to furthering the respectful and constructive dialogue with the Chinese Party, in view of the further development of bilateral relations for the benefit of the Catholic Church in China and the Chinese people as a whole,” the statement said.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman had announced the renewal of the deal during a regular briefing Tuesday, noting that authorities had decided to renew it for a four-year term, rather than a two-year terms.
Struck in 2018, the terms of the deal have never been made public and are thus described as “secret,” but it is believed to allow the pope to choose from a selection of candidates put forward by Chinese authorities.
It has been renewed twice times, with this being the third renewal of the controversial agreement.
Since it was first struck, the accord has been a source of widespread controversy, including from top personalities such as Cardinal Joseph Zen, the retired bishop of Hong Kong, over religious freedom concerns in China, as well as several breeches of the deal by Chinese authorities.
In November 2022 Chinese officials installed Bishop John Peng Weizhao an auxiliary bishop for the Diocese of Jiangxi, an ecclesiastic territory recognized by Chinese authorities but not by the Vatican, without the Vatican’s knowledge or approval.
Peng Weizhao had been appointed to the papally-recognized Diocese of Yujiang by Pope Francis in 2014, four years prior to the 2018 agreement. Considered an “underground” prelate not recognized by authorities, Peng Weizhao was arrested and held for six months before being released under strict observation.
Last April, Chinese authorities breached the agreement again by transferring Bishop Shen Bin of the nearby Diocese of Haimen to the Diocese of Shanghai, which had been vacant for 10 years, without the Vatican’s prior knowledge or approval.
However, supporters of the deal have argued that it was necessary in order to unite the Catholic ecclesial communities in China.
The Church in China for decades has been divided into an “official” Church run by the government-backed Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association (CPCA), and a so-called “underground” Church in union with Rome. The 2018 deal, ostensibly, was intended to unite the two.
Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin indicated earlier this year the deal could be renewed with some modifications.
He was a keynote speaker at a day conference titled, “100 years since the Concilium Sinense: Between history and present,” which was held in May at Rome’s Pontifical Urban University, marking the 100th anniversary of the Council of Shanghai.
On that occasion, Parolin said the Vatican wanted the detail to be renewed, and “also developed in some points,” but did not offer any further details. It appears the duration of the agreement was one of the modifications.
The renewal of the agreement for a longer term comes after several major gestures of goodwill on the part of the Vatican.
After Shen Bin’s unauthorized transfer last April, Pope Francis officially recognized the move that July, with the announcement published alongside an interview with Parolin in which he suggested that a permanent resident papal representative be appointed in Beijing.
Pope Francis last September made an historic visit to Mongolia in which, during his concluding Mass, he called the former bishop of Hong Kong, Cardinal John Tong, and the city’s current bishop, Stephen Chow, on stage and praised the “noble Chinese people” in a stadium filled with many Chinese faithful who had made clandestine trips to Mongolia to participate in papal events.
After returning from Mongolia, the pope made Chow a cardinal, and he welcomed two Chinese bishops who participated in the first half of the first Rome-based session of Synod of Bishops on Synodality last year, leaving partway through the October 2023 gathering.
Chow last April visited Beijing, marking the first time a Hong Kong bishop had traveled to the city since 1985, when Hong Kong was still a British colony. Last November, the gesture was reciprocated when Beijing’s Bishop Joseph Li Shan visited Hong Kong.
Shen Bin, who is president of the CPCA, was also a keynote speaker alongside Parolin and other CPCA officials at the conference on the Council of Shanghai in May, following a slew of episcopal appointments for China announced this year, collectively numbering more than in all previous years of the deal combined.
Two bishops from China have also participated in this year’s final session for the Synod of Bishops on Synodality in Rome, set to close this week, and they appear to be remaining for the duration of the event.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said Tuesday that both sides will continue to hold constructive talks in order to advance the improvement of relations.
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