"I think my knees were knocking," now-Archbishop Wester of Santa Fe, N.M., told America's "Inside the Vatican" podcast.

The Catholic bishop said his parishioners told him, "‘You don't look very good, Father!'

"Well, I don't feel very good right now!' Wester replied.

It was kind of a shockeroo."

Archbishop Wester's story is not unusual.

Most bishops are appointed without ever knowing they were being considered for the job and are caught by surprise when chosen.

The selection process for appointing Catholic bishops is perhaps the most secretive hiring process in the world, shielded from both the candidate and the priests and people he will serve.

Those who are consulted about possible candidates are required to return the list of questions they've been sent, because even the questions, which reveal no particulars about a candidate, are protected under the Vatican's top confidentiality classification: the "pontifical secret."

There is a joke among the hierarchy that "a pontifical secret is a secret you don't tell the pope," but the secrecy around this process has been chipped away in recent years.

On this episode of "Inside the Vatican," working from a copy of the revised survey that he obtained, America's Vatican correspondent Gerard O'Connell summarizes some of the questions that the Vatican is now asking about possible bishops.

This isn't the first time details of the secret questionnaire have been revealed: In 1984, Thomas J. Reese, S.J., then the editor of America magazine, obtained the survey that the nuncio sends out to gather information on candidates. (1984 Article and survey is different to today's version.)

He published it, in full, in America.

The biggest blow to the secrecy around how Catholic bishops are appointed, though, came from the Vatican itself.

Last fall, it took the unprecedented step of revealing how former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who was removed from the college of cardinals and from the priesthood for abusing minors, managed to rise through the ranks despite rumours circling about his sexual misconduct. Continue reading

Sources

• Inside the Vatican - Gerard O'Connell
• Image: Cardinal Marc Oullet Prefect for the Congregation of Bishops

Speaking at a conference entitled "Christianity in the Chinese Society: Impact, Interaction and Inculturation" in Rome late last week, Cardinal John Tong Hon said he supports the proposed agreement.

The agreement would see the Vatican propose a shortlist of candidates for a bishop's post.

The Patriotic Association, a body set up by the Chinese government to govern Catholic affairs, would select the bishops from the list.

While Hon's predecessor, Cardinal Joseph Zen, opposes the arrangement, Hon - who is Hong Kong's bishop emeritus - says he believes the Chinese government has generally become more tolerant.

In his opinion, an accord would help bring further openness and unity to the Church.

He told the "Christianity in the Chinese Society: Impact, Interaction and Inculturation" conference the agreement is "far-sighted".

He said at times, sacrifice is necessary in order for Catholics to become "members of one family."

The proposed agreement between China and the Vatican is intended to resolve long-standing tensions over the appointment of bishops.

The tensions have seen the Vatican insisting on the Pope's autonomy and Chinese authorities asserting the right to name bishops to protect against foreign influence.

If an agreement is signed, it would signal an easing of the difficulties between Rome and Beijing.

They severed diplomatic ties in 1951, although there have been intermittent attempts to rebuild relations between the two since the 1980s.

During the conference, Tong stressed that "dialogue is an indispensable feature of our modern world".

In his view, if Christianity and China "take a further step, we will find ourselves getting closer and closer to each other and becoming friends on the path to the truth."

"I've never seen a more serious attempt to enter into a dialogue and to continue the dialogue," said Missionhurst Father Jeroom Heyndrickx.

Heyndrickx is a member of the Vatican Commission on China, which has not met under Pope Francis.

He noted that the Vatican was not considering diplomatic ties, but only the appointment of bishops.

Hendrickx said Pope Francis restarted negotiations with China in 2014, and "it has been clear from the beginning … it was a serious attempt on both sides."

Source

• Catholic News Agency
• Crux Now
• Catholic Herald
• Image: South China Morning Post