VILNIUS, Lithuania — For the first time in decades, all of the
Catholic bishops in China are in full communion with the pope, the Vatican
announced.
Pope Francis lifted the excommunications or irregular status of
seven bishops who had been ordained with government approval, but not the
Vatican's consent, the Vatican announced Sept. 22. A few hours earlier,
representatives of the Vatican and the Chinese government signed what they
described as a "provisional agreement" on the appointment of bishops.
"With a view to sustaining the proclamation of the Gospel in
China, the Holy Father Pope Francis has decided to readmit to full ecclesial
communion the remaining 'official' bishops ordained without pontifical
mandate," the Vatican said, listing their names.
The pope also included in the list Bishop Anthony Tu Shihua, who,
before dying Jan. 4, 2017, "had expressed the desire to be reconciled with
the Apostolic See," the Vatican said.
Regularizing the bishops' status, the Vatican said, Pope Francis
hopes "a new process may begin that will allow the wounds of the past to
be overcome, leading to the full communion of all Chinese Catholics," some
of whom steadfastly have refused to participate in activities or parishes under
the leadership of bishops not recognized by Rome.
In recent years, most bishops chosen by the government-related
Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association have sought and received Vatican
recognition before their ordinations.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, said in a
statement that "the objective of the Holy See is a pastoral one: the Holy
See intends just to create the condition, or to help to create the condition,
of a greater freedom, autonomy and organization, in order that the Catholic
Church can dedicate itself to the mission of announcing the Gospel and also to
contribute to the well-being and to the spiritual and material prosperity and
harmony of the country, of every person and of the world as a whole."
"What is required now is unity, trust and a new
impetus," Cardinal Parolin said in a video message recorded before he left
Rome to join the pope in Vilnius. "To the Catholic community in China —
the bishops, priests, religious and faithful — the pope entrusts, above all,
the commitment to make concrete fraternal gestures of reconciliation among
themselves, and so to overcome past misunderstandings, past tensions, even the
recent ones."
The nomination and assignment of bishops has been a key sticking
point in Vatican-Chinese relations for decades; the Catholic Church has
insisted that bishops be appointed by the pope and the Chinese government has
maintained that would amount to foreign interference in China's internal
affairs.
Catholic communities that have refused to register with the
government and refused to follow government-appointed bishops commonly are
referred to as the underground church. Many communities, though, have bishops
who were elected locally but who pledged their unity with and fidelity to the
pope, which in effect meant they were recognized by both the government and the
Vatican.
Vatican officials always have said that giving up full control
over the nomination of bishops would not be what it hopes for, but could be a
good first step toward ensuring greater freedom and security for the Catholic
community there.
The Vatican announcement said the agreement was signed Sept. 22
in Beijing by Msgr. Antoine Camilleri, undersecretary for foreign relations in
the Vatican Secretariat of State, and Wang Chao, Chinese deputy foreign
minister.
The provisional agreement, the Vatican said, "is the fruit
of a gradual and reciprocal rapprochement, has been agreed following a long
process of careful negotiation and foresees the possibility of periodic reviews
of its application. It concerns the nomination of bishops, a question of great
importance for the life of the church, and creates the conditions for greater
collaboration at the bilateral level."
"The shared hope," the statement said, "is that
this agreement may favor a fruitful and forward-looking process of
institutional dialogue and may contribute positively to the life of the
Catholic Church in China, to the common good of the Chinese people and to peace
in the world."
The Vatican did not release the text of the agreement nor provide
details about what it entailed.
News reports in mid-September, like earlier in the year, said the
provisional agreement would outline precise procedures for ensuring Catholic
bishops are elected by the Catholic community in China and approved by the pope
before their ordinations and installations.
Media reports in the days before the announcement said future
candidates for the office of bishop will be chosen at the diocesan level
through a democratic election system, and the results of the elections will be
sent to Beijing for government authorities to examine. The government would
then submit a name via diplomatic channels to the Holy See.
The Holy See will carry out its own investigation of the
candidate before the pope either approves or exercises his veto, according to
the Jesuit-run America magazine. If the pope approves the candidate, the
process will continue. If not, "both sides will engage in a dialogue, and
Beijing would eventually be expected to submit the name of another
candidate."
The pope will have the final word on the appointment of bishops
in China, the report said.
Although Greg Burke, director of the Vatican press office, said
the agreement is pastoral, not political, it is seen as a step in the long
efforts to re-establish full diplomatic relations between the Vatican and
China. The two have not had formal diplomatic ties since shortly after China's
1949 communist revolution.