The Holy See and the People’s Republic of China have agreed to extend for another two years the Provisional Agreement agreement first concluded in 2018, according to a communiqué released by the Holy See Press Office on Saturday.
“The Vatican Party,” the statement said, "is committed to continuing a respectful and constructive dialogue with the Chinese Party for a productive implementation of the Accord and further development of bilateral relations, with a view to fostering the mission of the Catholic Church and the good of the Chinese people.”
The agreement that mainly concerns the appointment of bishops – in which both Beijing and the Pope have a say – was first signed in 2018 and renewed in 2020.
Pope Francis, in an interview with the Reuters news agency last July, had expressed his hope that the agreement could be renewed this October.
With reference to the appointment of bishops, the Pope said in the interview, “The agreement is going well” even if “it is going slowly, as I say, ‘the Chinese way’, because the Chinese have that sense of time, that no one can rush them.”
Speaking of the “martyrdom of patience”, he said: “Diplomacy is the art of the possible and making what is possible become a reality.”
In an interview with Osservatore Romano and Vatican News, Vatican Secretary ofd State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, to whom Francis has entrusted leadership in the negotiations, said: “The heart of the agreement certainly has to do with the consolidation of good institutional and cultural dialogue, but it mainly concerns aspects that are essential to the daily life of the Church in China.”
Asked about the still-undisclosed procedures for episcopal appointments, he said: “History teaches that the Holy See has often come, in the delicate and important matter of the appointment of bishops, to reach an agreement on procedures that take into consideration the particular conditions of a country, without however failing in what is essential and fundamental for the Church, namely, the appointment of good and worthy pastors .. . Therefore, it seemed prudent and wise to take into account both the needs expressed by the country's authorities and the needs of the Catholic communities.”
He enumerated three “fruits” of the agreement so far: all bishops of the Catholic Church in China are in full communion with the Pope and there have been no more illegitimate episcopal ordinations; the first six episcopal ordinations have taken place in the spirit of the agreement and in accordance with the “established procedure” that leaves the Pope the final and decisive say; and in this period the first 6 “clandestine” bishops – that is of the underground church – have succeeded in being registered and have had their position made official, being recognised as bishops by public institutions.
“These may seem small achievements,” Parolin said, “but, for those who examine history with the eyes of faith, they are important steps towards the progressive healing of the wounds inflicted on ecclesial communion by the events of the past.”
Interviewed by Fides news agency, Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle, Metropolitan Archbishop of Manila, reaffirmed that the Provisional Agreement seeks to ensure that Chinese Catholic bishops can exercise their ministry in full communion with the Pope, safeguarding the sacramental life of the Catholic Church.
“The reason for everything is to safeguard the valid apostolic succession and the sacramental nature of the Catholic Church in China,” the cardinal said.
Meanwhile in Beijing, in video footage seen across the world, China's former leader, Hu Jintao, the immediate predecessor of President Xi Jinping, was made to leave the stage at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing during the closing ceremony of the Communist Party Congress on Sunday. He was seated to the immediate left of President Xi Jinping, whose hold on power was cemented at the Congress by his winning a precedent-breaking third term in power. Clearly taken by surprise, Hu was manoeuvred from his seat by Xi aides, and escorted from the venue. Appealing to Xi as he passed behind him, Xi appeared briefly to indicate Hu’s removal was in order. The front row of apparatchiks remained stoney-faced throughout the drama.
Hu Jintao, who held the presidency between 2003 and 2013 represented a very different model for China from that of Xi Jinping. During his tenure China was seen as opening up to the outside world and increasingly tolerant of new ideas. The event on Sunday signalled that the rule of Xi will be more hardline and probably militaristic. Some observers speculated he might already have Taiwan, whose independence Beijing can never countenance, in his crosshairs.