(Per Mariam) — The revelation that bishops are being secretly consecrated for the Underground Church in China is groundbreaking, since it undermines the entire narrative given by the Holy See regarding its dealings with the Communist state. The Vatican must now reject its 2018 deal with China or else risk being knowingly complicit with the persecution of Catholics, if it not doing so already.
As of last week, the Catholic world has now received firm evidence that the Sino-Vatican deal has failed. It is a striking claim, but it is well grounded. But it has passed relatively un-noticed by the Catholic world at large.
First signed in 2018 as a “provisional agreement,” the deal between Beijing and the Holy See regarding the appointment of bishops was described by Pope Francis at the time as “writing this new chapter of the Catholic Church in China.”
He stated that “the Agreement sets out stable elements of cooperation between the state authorities and the Apostolic See, in the hope of providing the Catholic community with good shepherds.”
Explaining his attention to the Church in China and implementing the deal, Francis defended it as rooted in the search for unity:
“Precisely for the sake of supporting and promoting the preaching of the Gospel in China and reestablishing full and visible unity in the Church, it was essential, before all else, to deal with the issue of the appointment of bishops.”
As for its purpose, Francis added that “the Holy See has desired – and continues to desire – only to attain the Church’s specific spiritual and pastoral aims, namely, to support and advance the preaching of the Gospel, and to reestablish and preserve the full and visible unity of the Catholic community in China.”
Renewed every two years since 2018, the deal was most recently extended for a 4-year term in 2024, meaning that the next time it is due to renewal it will have been in force for a decade.
Despite that, the deal has remained highly confidential. Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin has defended this aspect. “The text is confidential because it has not yet been finally approved,” the Vatican press corps was told in summer 2023.
As Per Mariam readers will be well aware, the Sino-Vatican deal remains one of the most controversial points of Pope Francis’ legacy. Local Catholics described it as a Vatican betrayal of them; China experts warned that Church was caving to Communist China; politicians in numerous countries and international human rights bodies have also slated the deal. Indeed the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China has reported that Christian persecution has increased as a direct result of the deal.
Despite this, the Holy See has remained firm in its defence and continuation in exercising the deal. China continues to hold the upper hand as it nominates and selects bishops, leaving the Vatican the mere token duty of approving the candidate. But, as the Chinese-state church demonstrates in its own details, it does not publicly acknowledge the role of the Holy See.
Secret consecrations
Recent days have now put the final nail in the coffin of any debate regarding the efficacy of the deal, as an Underground bishop revealed that bishops are being consecrated in secret for the Underground Church.
Interviewed by Catholic World Report, the anonymous prelate stated that in order to “assure the survival of China’s Church,” the Underground has been secretly consecrating bishops for the Church which is loyal to Rome.
Though he was unsure, or unwilling, to give precise figures, the bishop said that “at least ten new bishops” had been consecrated for his province alone. Per Mariam has been informed that most of the consecrations took place in the last year.
The 2018 Sino-Vatican deal ushered in “a state of emergency” to the Church in China, the bishop added.
He further noted that Chinese Catholics are still hurting from the deal – quite aside from active persecution – and “question Rome’s genuine concern for their spiritual well-being when the Holy See approves of government-selected bishops who are suspiciously reliable to the state.”
“They wonder, who is the pope in China? Xi Jinping or Pope Leo XIV?”
The Holy See Press Office has still not replied to questions from this correspondent regarding whether the Pope knew of the consecrations, or had approved them, or if the Vatican was entirely oblivious. Now that the secret consecrations have been revealed, it is important for the Church to know if the Vatican approved them or not, and how much it knew.
But even without receipt of these answers, the Underground Church has demonstrated that the Holy See’s policy with China is fundamentally flawed. For years politicians and activists have been saying so, and now the Underground Church is proving it by its daily life.
Just after the deal was signed in 2018, AsiaNews reported that Underground Catholics felt betrayed by the Vatican. It appears that feeling has only increased.
Not only that, but the Underground fears for the integrity of the faith. Hence why a “state of emergency” has been invoked as bishops seeks to prioritise the passing on of the Catholic faith rather than the creed polluted with Communism which Beijing demands.
Pope Francis wrote in 2018 that the deal was intended “to attain the Church’s specific spiritual and pastoral aims, namely, to support and advance the preaching of the Gospel, and to reestablish and preserve the full and visible unity of the Catholic community in China.” The Underground has proved that the deal has missed its mark entirely.
Returning to whether the Vatican did indeed know about the secret consecrations, the answer which would leave the Holy See in the most favourable light is that Rome was unaware. For this to be the most favourable option might seem strange, but one must remember the facts.
Religious watchdogs have consistently reported that Christian persecution in China has increased precisely because of the deal. If the Vatican knew that the deal had failed – to the extent that Underground bishops were required to be secretly consecrated in order to preserve the faith – and yet kept renewing it, then the Holy See would be complicit in the persecution of its own flock.
Strange as it might seem, Catholics ought thus to hope that the Holy See only learned about the secret consecrations at the same time as everyone else.
As for the future, it is clear that the Underground both loves but mistrusts Rome. It loves the Holy See enough to risk persecution in order to be loyal to the Church, but mistrusts the Vatican’s policies and episcopal choices. The Underground knows what it has done all along – namely that the Vatican cannot expect to make a deal with Beijing and emerge victorious.
It is not until 2028 that the Sino-Vatican is next up for renewal. Pope Leo will face a momentous choice at that stage, between taking a courageous stance and rejecting it, or consigning Chinese Catholics to yet more persecution. Inaction leads to Chinese control and being complicit in the persecution of the Church.
The fate of China’s Catholics and the Vatican’s moral integrity rely upon the Holy See rejecting the ill-fated deal.