The Vatican condemned the Chinese government for violating the secretive deal between the Catholic Church and Beijing following China’s selection of a new “Auxiliary Bishop of Jiangxi” over the objections of Pope Francis.
The provisional deal between the Vatican and China, the specific terms of which remain a secret but which relates to the appointment of bishops, was first agreed to in September 2018 and was renewed for another two years in October 2020. The deal was renewed again this October, and China apparently immediately violated it.
“It was with surprise and regret that the Holy See learned of the news of the ‘installation ceremony’ that took place on 24 November in Nanchang, of H.E. Bishop Giovanni Peng Weizhao, Bishop of Yujiang (Jiangxi Province), as ‘Auxiliary Bishop of Jiangxi,’ a diocese not recognized by the Holy See,” the Vatican said this weekend. “Such an event, in fact, has not taken place in conformity with the spirit of dialogue that exists between the Vatican parties and the Chinese parties and what has been stipulated in the Provisional Agreement on the Appointment of Bishops.”
VATICAN-CHINA DEAL MADE THINGS WORSE FOR CATHOLICS
The Vatican said the selection of Peng Weizhao was preceded by “prolonged and intense pressure by the local Authorities.” The Vatican added that it “hopes that similar episodes will not be repeated, is awaiting the appropriate communication about the matter from the Authorities, and reaffirms its complete willingness to continue the respectful dialogue concerning all of the matters of common interest.”
There is a large divide inside China between the government-sanctioned Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association and the underground Catholic Church.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian pleaded ignorance of the Vatican’s outcry on Monday while defending the Chinese government’s treatment of the Catholic Church. “I’m not aware of what you mentioned,” the Chinese official contended. “I need to point out that in recent years, China and the Vatican have maintained engagement and reached a host of important common understandings. The sustained improvement of ties between China and the Vatican has also contributed to the harmonious development of Catholicism in China.”
The Chinese Communist Party-run “China Catholic” website said the “Catholic Jiangxi Diocese held the inauguration ceremony of Peng Weizhao as auxiliary bishop” on Nov. 24 “with the consent of the Jiangxi Provincial Catholic Educational Affairs Committee and the approval of the Chinese Catholic Bishops Conference.”
The “Diocese of Jiangxi” is not recognized as legitimate by the Vatican, but that is the way the Chinese government-run “Patriotic Church” organizes the churches there.
The Vatican announced the renewal of the deal on Oct. 22, saying the “Vatican Party is committed to continuing a respectful and constructive dialogue with the Chinese Party for a productive implementation of the Accord and further development of bilateral relations, with a view to fostering the mission of the Catholic Church and the good of the Chinese people.”
The China-Vatican deal’s renewal came just days before the trial against Hong Kong Cardinal Joseph Zen resumed. Zen was prosecuted by the Chinese government-dominated authorities of the city following his decades of harsh criticism of Beijing’s religious persecution, its extensive human rights abuses, and its growing repression. He is also an outspoken critic of the China-Vatican deal.
The 90-year-old cardinal, along with five co-defendants, was arrested and charged under Hong Kong’s Societies Ordinance in May for allegedly failing to properly register the pro-democracy 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund, which provided legal and medical assistance in 2019 and 2020 to jailed protesters who objected to the Chinese government’s increasingly iron-fisted grip on the former British colony.
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The Vatican’s response to Zen’s arrest and conviction was largely quiet as Francis sought to renew the Sino-Vatican deal. The pope declined to say in September that the prosecution of Zen was a violation of religious liberty and refused to agree that the People’s Republic of China is not a democracy.
Members of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom criticized the Vatican’s decision to renew its deal with the Chinese government amid Beijing’s crackdown on freedoms, arguing that the situation has actually gotten worse for Catholics and other Christians and religious minorities in China since the deal was first agreed to.
