Vatican and China renew, extend agreement on naming bishops

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Vatican and the Chinese government are renewing their agreement on the appointment of bishops and extending it from a two-year to a four-year term, both sides announced.

Lin Jian, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, told reporters in Beijing Oct. 22, “Through friendly consultations, the two sides have decided to extend the agreement for another four years,” reported The Standard, a newspaper based in Hong Kong.

“The two sides will maintain talks with a constructive spirit and continue to promote the improvement of China-Vatican relations,” the Chinese spokesman said.

A few hours later, the Vatican issued a statement saying, “In light of the consensus reached for an effective application of the Provisional Agreement regarding the Appointment of Bishops, after appropriate consultation and assessment, the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China have agreed to extend further its validity for four years from the present date.”

“The Vatican Party remains dedicated to furthering the respectful and constructive dialogue with the Chinese Party, in view of the further development of bilateral relations for the benefit of the Catholic Church in China and the Chinese people as a whole,” the Vatican statement said.

In 2018, the Vatican and the government of China signed an agreement outlining procedures for ensuring that Catholic bishops elected by the Catholic community in China are approved by the pope before their ordinations or installations. The provisional agreement, which has never been published, was renewed for two years in 2020 and 2022.

When the Vatican first signed the agreement, Pope Francis also lifted the excommunications or irregular status of seven bishops who had been ordained with government approval, but not the Vatican’s consent. It marked the first time in decades that all the Catholic bishops in China were in full communion with the pope.

In mid-September Pope Francis had told reporters flying with him from Singapore, “I am content with the dialogue with China. The results are good. Also, on the nomination of bishops, the work is going forward with goodwill.”

However, the Vatican has complained at least twice in the past six years when China named or transferred bishops in apparent violation of the accord.

A few days before the Vatican and China announced the renewal of the agreement, Vatican News published the speeches the two bishops from mainland China gave at the Synod of Bishops and noted that it was only after the agreement was signed in 2018 that any bishops from the mainland could participate in a synod at the Vatican.

One of the two Chinese synod delegates, Bishop Vincent Zhan Silu of Funing-Mindong, was among the seven clerics readmitted “to full ecclesial communion” with the signing of the Vatican-China agreement in 2018. He and four other priests were ordained bishops without Vatican approval in 2000.