A Chinese Catholic bishop has been ordained with approval from the Pope and Beijing for the first time under an agreement intended to encourage a rapprochement between China and the Holy See.
China’s nearly 12 million Catholics have for decades been split between a government-run association, whose clergy were chosen by the Chinese Communist Party, and an unofficial underground church loyal to the Vatican.
However, under the terms of the deal agreed on in September last year, both Beijing and the Vatican are to have a say in appointing Catholic bishops.
China’s official church, the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, said that Antonio Yao Shun (姚順) on Monday was ordained as bishop of the diocese of Ulan Chab in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
The law in China requires priests and bishops to register and align with the nation’s official church.
However, the Vatican said that the bishop had also “received the Papal mandate” at the ordination, Holy See Press Office director Matteo Bruni said in a statement.
It said that the ordination was the “first to take place in the framework of the Provisional Agreement between the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China,” which severed diplomatic relations in 1951.
According to a report in the state-run Global Times yesterday, China faces a shortage of bishops, with about one-third of the 98 dioceses having no bishops and many older bishops set to retire.
State media reports said that another Chinese bishop was set to be ordained yesterday, although the official church did not confirm this.
Pope Francis recognized seven clergy appointed by China as part of the deal, despite fears that the deal would be used to crack down on worshipers outside the official church.
Although ties have improved as China’s Catholic population grows and the Vatican intensifies efforts to restore relations, tensions remain.
The Vatican is Taiwan’s only European diplomatic ally.
In June, the Vatican called for Beijing not to intimidate Catholics who were still choosing to worship at underground churches that refuse to swear allegiance to the official state church.
The past few years have also seen a clampdown on religious worship in China on multiple fronts, with churches destroyed and restrictions on the sale of Bibles.
The agreement met with fierce criticism from some quarters when it was announced last year.
Hong Kong’s former bishop, Cardinal Joseph Zen (陳日君), said at the time that the deal was “a major step toward the annihilation of the real Church in China.”
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