The Vatican is close to an agreement with Beijing that would include
recognition of four bishops who have been illicitly ordained, according
to the Reuters news agency.
The Vatican has declined to comment on the report. A spokesman for
the Chinese foreign ministry would only say: “We are willing to work
hard with the Vatican and meet each other halfway.”
Rumors of an imminent agreement between the Holy See and the Chinese
government, governing the appointment and recognition of bishops, have
circled widely in Rome in recent weeks. Reuters now reports that an
accord will be announced before the end of this month.
According to Reuters, the agreement will allow for the ordination of
two new bishops this year, with the approval of both Rome and Beijing.
A more controversial aspect of the agreement, according to Reuters,
will be the Vatican’s approval of four bishops who were appointed by
Beijing and ordained without approval from the Holy See. Until now these
bishops have been subject to excommunication: the ordinary penalty for
an involvement in an episcopal ordination without a mandate from the
Vatican.
Under the leadership of Pope Francis, the Vatican has redoubled
efforts to reach an agreement with China, in order to allow for the
normalization of Church pastoral work and to ease divisions between the
“official” Catholic Church that has government approval and the
“underground” Church that has maintained its loyalty to Rome.
However,
according to the Reuters report, the draft agreement does not resolve
the status of the “underground” bishops who are recognized by the Holy
See but not by the government, and have been subject to official
harassment and arrest for “illegal” religious activities.
The key issue in dispute between the Vatican and Beijing has been the
appointment of bishops. Many of the “official” bishops appointed by
Chinese officials have sought and received Vatican recognition. But the
Holy See has refused to yield to Beijing’s demand that bishops be named
by the government-backed Catholic Patriotic Association.
The new accord, Reuters says, provides for bishops to be selected by
local clergy, with the Pope making the final choice among proposed
candidates.
The Vatican would retain the power to reject a candidate on
moral grounds. That provision would respond to Vatican concerns about
“official” bishops who have maintained relations with women and fathered
children.
An agreement between the Holy See and the Beijing government would
allow for the appointment of new bishops in many dioceses that are
currently without episcopal leadership.
The accord described by Reuters,
however, would raise serious questions about the fate of the
“underground” Church.