While media attention has been focused almost solely upon the Presidential election, a diplomatic overture which the Vatican has initiated with the Peoples’ Republic of China (PRC) regarding the appointment of Bishops for Chinese Catholics almost totally has been unreported.
The China Vatican dialogue comes in the midst of new pressures being applied by the Beijing government to exert even more control over religious practice and expression within the country.
The Vatican hopes that these discussions will culminate in a diplomatic agreement which could be announced by the end of this month.
For over 60 years, the Holy See and the PRC relationship can be described to have been tenuous at best. Trying to find a common ground between the Church and a fiercely atheistic regime has been an elusive quest for sure.
But, since his election to the Papacy, Pope Francis has been looking for a way to bridge the gap in these icy relations.
The Pope has been seeking to come to an agreement which would allow the Vatican to have a say in appointment of Bishops in a way acceptable to the Communist regime. It has been recently reported that the Holy Father is intent upon completing this diplomatic effort by the conclusion of the Holy Year of Mercy (November 20).
Historically, the Church unrelentingly has insisted upon its right to appoint its own Bishops, a right which the PRC has just as steadfastly resisted and refused to allow.
But Pope Francis thinks he may have found a way to bridge this longstanding gap in its relationship with the Communist government.
It appears that the Vatican’s diplomatic solution achieved with the Communists in Vietnam may provide the basis of the accord which the Holy See wishes to realize with the PRC.
The Vatican-Vietnamese accord provides that the Holy See provide a ternus, a list of three candidates to the Communist government which then exercises the right to appoint one of the three candidates a Bishop.
That is the agreement at least. In practice, however, the implementation of the arrangement has not been without its difficulties. It seems that, in a majority of cases, the Vietnamese government has refused to accept the ternus, sending the Vatican scurrying back to the Congregation for Bishops to provide a new list of candidates. Still, it's a beginning, a small pathway to cooperation.
If this is the model which the Vatican-PRC accord follows, it would seem that the Vatican’s influence upon the appointment of Bishops for Chinese Catholic may be scant indeed. But, this too would be an opening, albeit a narrow one, toward improved relationships with the Chinese Communists.
Any attempt to cooperate with the PRC is a dicey venture to be sure. And while Pope Francis may be of the mind that the time as come to engage directly with the Communist Party, he is surely aware that there is risk of doing damage to the so-called “underground Catholic Church” which has been faithful to the Vatican for decades, even at the cost of martyrdom in many cases.
Still, the Pope's diplomatic engagement with the Chinese government will be viewed as a betrayal by so many of these loyal Catholics.
Already, just the hint of a Vatican-PRC agreement has spurred recent moves within the underground Catholic Church to ordain Bishops on its own without Vatican authorization or approval, a move which the Holy See has condemned in recent statements issued by Vatican the Secretariat of State.
The Church risks allowing itself to be viewed as perhaps too eager to advance its influence in such an atheistic culture at the cost of losing the fidelity and devotion of generations of Chinese Catholics who have suffered so much for the Faith.
It remains to be seen whether or not this initiative enjoys the inspiration and the blessings of the Holy Spirit Who gives life to the Church, advances her mission and protects her in times of peril.
Certainly, any move to bring the Catholic Faith to our Chinese sisters and brothers and to share with them the Grace of the Sacraments of Holy Mother Church is to be commended and encouraged by the entire Catholic community.
May God bless Pope Francis’ efforts and intentions. May the Lord bless the true Catholic Church in China and allow them to be served by this diplomatic initiative.
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