HONG KONG (SE/Agencies): Vatican secretary of state, Pietro Cardinal Parolin confirmed on September 14 that the provisional agreement between the Holy See and China, which expires in October, will likely be renewed. But it will not be without resistance from those Catholics who feel that this is a very bad time to be cosying up to the Chinese government and the Communist Party. The agreement was signed on 22 September 2018 in Beijing and its renewal might take place in Rome.
This agreement is crucial because the Vatican and China have not maintained diplomatic relations since 1951 when Chinese government began repressing all religions. The content of the agreement is not public, but it does allow the Vatican to appoint new bishops. There are more than 50 dioceses without bishops on the mainland. Since the beginning of his pontificate, Pope Francis has tried to improve relations with China.
Vatican officials believe a deal with China could improve the lives of Chinese Catholics, especially those in the unofficial Church. But critics fear the deal is already buying the silence of Pope Francis on human rights abuses and suppression of faith by the Chinese government. The renewal of the agreement is already dividing Catholics and risks further heightening tensions.
Father Bernardo Cervellera, who heads AsiaNews and is a former missionary in China, has argued that the deal, over the past two years, has not had the desired results. He raised his concerns in an article published on September 9 and wrote, “I understand the positivity, the temptation to have this relationship with China, but I have to say that there is very little fruit.”
The Global Times, the state-run English language newspaper, quoted Vatican officials praising the agreement as a breakthrough and historical. But what was better noticed was the absence of any positive comments from any Chinese officials. The report failed to obtain opinions from members of the Chinese government.
Father Cervellera observed that China has been so silent about the agreement, leaving him with two impressions: either the Chinese Communist Party sees the agreement as something positive or that, in their view, “the stakes are increasing so much that they ask the Vatican for everything.”
Although the agreement was for the naming of new bishops, not one new bishop has been named since the agreement was reached in 2018. The two new ordinations of last year and the recently recognised bishops had been selected years prior to the agreement. Hence, objectively, they are not a result of the agreement.
Having little to boast about in its two years of existence, the provisional agreement is confronted with severe criticisms, but a diplomatic relationship which was made possible after almost 70 years, might need more time to build mutual trust and confidence. It would be too ambitious to expect overnight results, but care must be taken to keep open the window for dialogue.
