HONG KONG (UCAN): Bishop Peter Lin Jiashan, the 83-year-old bishop of the unofficial community in Fuzhou, Fujian province, was installed at a state-sanctioned ceremony at Fanchuanpu Holy Rosary Church in Fuzhou on June 9. Bishop Lin had been leading the unofficial Church since 1997.
Bishop Joseph Cai Bingrui of Xiamen, Fujian province, a Vatican-recognised bishop, celebrated the installation Mass which occurred just three months before the Sino-Vatican provisional agreement on the appointment of bishops, signed in 2018, is up for renewal.
The ceremony was attended by only 40 priests and 80 people from the diocese, reportedly following restrictions on gatherings due to the Covid-19 coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic.
Bishop Lin is the third bishop to be recognised by the communist regime since the signing of the provisional agreement.
Since 1951, when the Vatican and China ended diplomatic relations, the communist government in China has not accepted any of the bishops appointed by the Vatican. In 1957, the state established the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (CCPA) and appointed its own bishops.
Decades of Vatican efforts to regularise relations and appoint bishops in China resulted in the 2018 provisional agreement.
The first bishop of the unofficial Church to be recognised by China following the agreement was Bishop Zhuang Jianjian of Shantou, on 22 January 2019. He retired immediately. The second was Bishop Jin Lugang of Nanyang, on 30 January 2019.
The Ethnic and Religious Affairs Department of Fujian said Bishop Cai delivered a congratulatory speech on behalf of the CCPA and the Chinese Catholic educational administration committee of the province after the ceremony for Bishop Lin.
Father Wang Yuliang, an official of the state-approved Bishops’ Conference of the Catholic Church in China, read a letter of approval.
Bishop Lin pledged to obey God, fulfill the pastoral duties of a bishop and proclaim the gospel to lead the Diocese of Fuzhou. He also vowed to be an active member of the Chinese Catholic Church.
The bishop’s statement also said priests and Catholics should abide by the constitution of the country, uphold national unity and social harmony and love the country and the Church.
The statement also insisted on following the directions to “sinicise the Church in our country” and contribute to the realisation of the “dream of a great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.”
One Fuzhou priest, who requested anonymity, said that while the diocese has more than 100 priests only some 40 could attend the ceremony because the Covid-19 pandemic is “not yet over in the area.”
He said, “The number of people who could attend the ceremony was limited,” adding that attendees were selected after discussion among priests.
However, some sources reported that Bishop Lin’s installation had not been accepted by everyone in the diocese. The local Church is divided into at least three factions—the official and unofficial groups and a third group looking for unification.
“The road to unity and communion with the Vatican is still far and not that easy,” the source said.
At least one third of diocesan priests have not signed the government document for civil registration of the clergy “because they are worried about the diocese’s future,” another local source said.
