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China and the Vatican have signed this weekend an agreement on the appointment of Catholic bishops that could help end a decades-long diplomatic stalemate between the two countries.
The Vatican did not recognize the People's Republic of China when it was founded in 1949 after the Chinese Communist Party's victory over the war against Chiang Kai-shek's nationalist party. It is the only country in Europe that still recognizes Taiwan, the island on which the nationalists fled, rather than mainland China.
Although eager to restore formal relations between China's 1.4 billion people and its global herd of about 1.2 billion Catholics, the Vatican and Beijing have often faced bishops' appointments.
In 2006, Beijing broke an unofficial agreement between the two parties under which only bishops recognized by both the Vatican and the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association would be appointed.
The agreement this weekend, whose details remain secret, restores this previous agreement, allowing both parties to address other points of blockage that still hinder mutual diplomatic recognition. But the Vatican insisted that the agreement was "not political but pastoral" and aimed to ensure that none of the 12 million Chinese Catholics should choose between rival bishops, one loyal to the CPA and the other. other to the pope.
According to some estimates, the Protestant population of China has exploded in recent years to reach 100 million, but the number of Catholics has stagnated while urbanization drains young people from Catholic strongholds in the countryside, especially
Even before the collapse of the two sides' unofficial arrangements twelve years ago, most bishops in China have been recognized by both Beijing and the Vatican.
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"The exact mechanism is not known but it is obvious that it operates on the basis of a double veto [and] consensus, "said Benoit Vermander, a Jesuit priest and professor of religious studies at Shanghai's Fudan University.
Under the terms of the agreement, Pope Francis agreed to recognize seven bishops appointed by China, previously rejected by the Vatican. However, it is unclear whether Beijing will similarly recognize the small number of "clandestine" bishops secretly appointed by Rome.
"This may be the hardest part of the work that remains to be done with the pitfalls to be avoided along the way," said Professor Vermander.
The official suppression of the clandestine church in China and other constraints to religious freedom in the country have made any rapprochement between the Vatican and Beijing a controversial milestone for many Catholics.
"The suppression of Christianity by the Chinese authorities in recent months has caused us great concern," said the Justice and Peace Commission of the Hong Kong Diocese in a statement. "It is doubtful whether China has the sincerity to guarantee the religious freedom of the Chinese church."
In June, the commission called on the Chinese authorities to release all clergy "illegally detained" in the country, including Cui Tai, a bishop from Hebei Province detained in April.
Religious repression more broadly – such as the systematic internment of young Muslim men by the Chinese government in northwestern China – is also an obstacle to the re-establishment of diplomatic relations.
Additional report by Nicolle Liu in Hong Kong
