Bishop Antonio Yao Shun of Jining and Bishop Joseph Yang Yongqiang of Zhoucun will travel from China to Rome to participate as full members of the Oct 4-28 Synod of Bishops on the topic of "For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, Mission."

The bishops join Taiwan Bishop Norbert Pu of Kiayi and Cardinal-elect Stephen Chow, the bishop of Hong Kong, who were already announced as synod delegates in July.

The Vatican publicised the addition of the two mainland Chinese bishops during a press conference on the eve of the fifth anniversary of the signing of the Vatican-China deal, the provisional agreement on the appointment of bishops between the Holy See and Beijing on Sept 22, 2018.

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This is a move which observers say is a setback to China's hopes of implementing the deal smoothly.

The deal was signed secretly in September 2018, and no details have yet been released.

Its key provision is believed to apply to the appointment of bishops. The Chinese Communist Party would name a slate of three bishops, from which the Pope would select one.

Auxiliary Bishop Vincent Guo Xijin of Mindong announced his resignation on 4 October and said he will no longer participate in public activities.

An online letter being circulated said the bishop was resigning in view of the "signs of a new era, a new chapter for the Church, and particularly in the Diocese of Mindong".

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In welcoming Bishops John Baptist Yang Xiaoting and Joseph Guo Jincai to the synod, Francis wept, saying: "The communion of the entire episcopate with the successor of Peter is yet more visible thanks to their presence."

Yang and Guo's presence with government approval at the synod is seen as a sign of the Church in China's restored communion with the Bishop of Rome.

It is also seen as an affirmation from China's government of the historic provisional agreement on the selection of bishops signed in Beijing last month.

Since it was signed, there has been much debate about the wisdom of the provisional agreement.

Some view it as an essential step in ensuring the unity of Catholics in China with the universal church.

Others view it as an unacceptable concession to the Chinese government and a betrayal of Chinese Catholics who have risked their lives for decades by refusing to allow the government to control the church.

However, in praising Francis's efforts for the Church in China, Yang says Francis's agreement with the communist government of China is a sign of the unified church in the world.

At a mass Yang and Guo concelebrated in Rome, Yang told parishioners: "Just as a family constituted by a husband and wife is always one, so is the church, which is one, holy, catholic and apostolic.

"In Italy, in China or in any other country, Christ's love is the same.

"Pope Francis, who knows very well the situation of the Catholic Church in China, did not want to leave us, did not want to separate us from the universal church."

Yang went on to tell them China's Catholics were hopeful that Pope Francis, "and you, too," could visit China one day.

"In the love of Christ, in the love of God, we are always one family; the universal church is always like a family," he said.

"Even if we live in different countries and even if there is diversity between our cultures, liturgies and other things, our faith in the Lord is always one."

Because of other commitments and the short time frame between the date the agreement was signed and the synod's opening date, the two Chinese bishops are not able to stay until the synod ends on 28 October.

Source

• Catholic Philly
• Angelus News
• Image: naijachurchnews

The deal will end a long struggle between Beijing's Communist rulers and the pope over who chooses the leaders of Catholicism in China.

"It is a baby step by China toward recognising some of the framework of the Western world," said Francesco Sisci, an Italian who teaches international relations at China Renmin University in Beijing.

"It doesn't go as far as recognizing what we in the West call religious freedom but it is a degree of religious autonomy."

Not everyone is in favour of the deal, however.

Some U.S. diplomats, for example, are concerned Francis is conceding a strong influence over church leadership to an avowedly atheist authoritarian regime.

"This is a strange step backward on terrain over which the church has fought, not for centuries but millennia," said Sandro Magister, a Vatican expert who writes for Italy's L'Espresso magazine.

"The church has managed to free itself from control of sovereigns and governments on ecclesiastical matters such as the naming of bishops, but now this achievement is clamorously contradicted by the agreement with China."

Beijing and the Vatican are close to signing the deal, even though the Chinese government has recently intensified a crackdown on Christians and other religious groups. It has been closing churches and removing religious symbols such as crosses and the domes of mosques.

China's estimated 10 million Catholics are legally supposed to worship only in churches approved by the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, a state-controlled body not recognised by the Vatican. Many Catholics attend unregistered churches in underground communities led by bishops loyal only to Rome.

Nonetheless, Beijing is eager for the publicity boost that mending ties with the Vatican would bring.

Source

• The Wall Street Journal
• Forbes
• Image: Tibetan Review

They think the Vatican and Chinese government's plan to sign an agreement about appointing bishops will mean legitimate bishops will have to step down in favour of state-appointed ones.

The agreement, which is only "a few months" away, would allow the Vatican to help appoint bishops in China.

At the same time, Chinese authorities will be given more control over the country's underground churches.

These underground churches, which offer an alternative to state-sanctioned churches approved by Beijing, recognise only the Vatican's authority.

The Beijing-approved state churches refuse to accept the Pope's authority.

Chinese Catholics are concerned about the future of seven "illicit" government-backed Chinese bishops. At present, these bishops are not recognised by the Holy See and have been excommunicated.

Two bishops in Shantou and Mindong dioceses, who have been recognised by the Holy See have been asked to make way for illicit ones.

"We know that China and Vatican have been actively engaged in a dialogue, but we never expected that legitimate bishops would be asked to step down," says a Chinese Catholic who refuses to be named.

She says in exchange for the agreement signed by the Holy See with the government, "the underground community needs to be sanctified."

"Our faith tells us that God so loved the world that everything was best arranged by Him and He can bring good from evil, but now what is our future?

"Where is the church? And who is the shepherd? It is a burden for Catholics to have the game of politics imposed on them."

The woman says the Holy See's decision will make many Catholics leave the church as they "have no choice but to obey".

An underground priest has also expressed concern. He says it's a mistake for the Holy See to assume it can achieve unity by supporting the Communist Party-controlled Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association.

It's "... like asking the underground church to take communion with the devil". He says the underground church feels abandoned and betrayed.

Another underground Catholic says he thinks the Holy See is in a united front with China's communist government.

Father John of Yunnan says the Holy See is in a hurry to establish relations with Chinese authorities.

With the Holy See being "blessed and generous to bishops of the association but not to bishops of underground churches," he says it's obvious underground bishops will transfer to open churches.

• The Tablet
• UCA News
• Image: Asia News

Under the new ruling, a diocese has to seek agreement from the Beijing-based BCCCC and religious affairs bureau to begin the process of electing and ordaining a new bishop.

It also stipulates that bishops must support the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party and its socialist system.

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