The Vatican announced the first appointment of the Chinese bishop on Wednesday during the pontificate of the new Pope Leo XIV. According to AFP, this indicates that Lion XIV. He continues to support a controversial agreement on the appointment of bishops, which Pope Francis, with Beijing, concluded his predecessor, He writes TASR.
The Holy See expressed “satisfaction” that China recognized the appointment 73-year-old Lin Jün-Tchuan, who received the religious name Ruo-SE (Joseph), as an auxiliary bishop in the city of Fu-Čou in the province of Fujien. The Pope appointed him on June 5. “This event represents another fruit of the dialogue between the Holy See and the Chinese organs and is an important step on the path of the diocese in the community (with the Pope),” stated in the Vatican statement.
Relations between the Vatican and China, which has an atheistic government, are tense for a long time. In 1951, Communist China interrupted relations with the Holy See, and Catholics could only join the state -controlled patriotic association of Chinese Catholics. Catholics, who decided to remain faithful to the Pope, found themselves in illegality.
However, the Vatican and China signed an agreement in 2018 during the pontificate of the late Pope Francis, which gives both parties the opportunity to comment on the appointment of bishops in China. The agreement was subsequently extended in 2022 by two years and in October 2024 the Chinese government and the Vatican expressed their consent to extend the agreement on the appointment of Catholic bishops for another four years.
However, since the conclusion of the Agreement in 2018, China has appointed several bishops without the prior consent of the Vatican. For example, in November 2022, the Vatican strongly condemned the appointment of Pcheng Wed as an auxiliary bishop in Jiang-Si, which the Vatican does not recognize as a diocese.
The agreement, the wording of which has never been published, caused a wave of criticism in the Church. Some consider it an agreement that allows the communist government to control Catholics in the country, and as a betrayal of the Catholics of the decade of the faithful Pope. One of the main critics of the agreement is Cardinal Čhen Ž’-Ťün (known for the English transcription such as Joseph Zen Ze-Kiun), Emeritus Bishop Hong Kong.
