VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — A Chinese bishop at the Synod on Synodality took to the floor recently to promote “the sinicization of Catholicism” and praise the Vatican’s deal with Beijing.
Amidst the general debate and controversy of the Synod, a sideshow is taking place regarding the complicated relations between the Holy See, China and Taiwan, with representatives for all parties engaging in dialogue during the proceedings.
The much critiqued Holy See deal with Communist China is also expected to be renewed in the coming days, providing an intensified focus on the diplomatic relations at work in the Synod.
CCP bishops address Synod
In the middle of last week, Bishop Joseph Yang Yongqiang of the Chinese Diocese of Hangzhou took to the Synod floor to give his thoughts as part of the “free interventions” of the Synod. The moment was historic, as it is understood to be the first time that a Chinese bishop has done so.
Yang praised the Vatican’s 2018 deal with China, according to brief details provided to the press corps last week by Dr Paolo Ruffini, prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery of Communications.
At Synod presser, Paolo Ruffini said that in Synod speeches Bishop Joseph Yang Yongqiang praised the #Vatican‘s deal with China.
+Joseph Yang was made VP of the state-approved Church in China in 2016.
He was approved as bp of Hangzhou by #PopeFrancis in June. pic.twitter.com/t26hVBFz53
— Michael Haynes 🇻🇦 (@MLJHaynes) October 9, 2024
On October 17, a slightly more detailed account of Yang’s testimony was given by Vatican News. “The Church in China is the same as the Catholic Church in other countries of the world: we belong to the same faith, share the same baptism, and we are all faithful to the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church,” Yang was reported as saying.
Though no mention was made in the report of the Sino-Vatican deal, Yang said that “we effectively adapt to society, serve it, adhere to the direction of the sinicization of Catholicism, and preach the Good News.” Sinicization refers to the process of Chinese state-assimilation and control of the Church in the country for its own ends.
READ: Pope Francis said Chinese Catholics will ‘suffer’ under his deal. They are
He added that the Church in China had opened “active exchanges with Catholic communities around the world based on the principles of equality, friendship, and mutual respect” and invited all to visit China.
Yang was appointed by Francis as bishop of Hangzhou in June, after the Pope approved his transfer from the Diocese of Zhoucon. He has a long association with the Communist state church, the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (CCPA), which the Vatican does not recognize as legitimate.
In 2016 and again in 2022 Yang was elected as one of the vice-chairmen of the Chinese Catholic Bishops Association – the Chinese state-approved bishops conference which leads the CCPA.
Yang is one of two bishops from China taking part in the Synod on Synodality. Last year, Yang was accompanied by Bishop Yao Shun, but the pair famously departed the 2023 assembly early, with the Vatican simply citing “pastoral needs.”
This year Yang is joined by Bishop Zhan Silu of the Diocese of Mindong, who has a similarly notable tie to the Communist governing body and the state-approved church.
He was ordained a priest in 1989, by a bishop consecrated without the Pope’s approval. Zhan himself was consecrated bishop of Mindong in 2000 without papal approval, and was promptly excommunicated.
The Vatican-approved ordinary of the diocese was Bishop Joseph Guo Xijin.
However, upon the signing of the Sino-Vatican deal in 2018, Guo was instructed by the Holy See to become Zhan’s auxiliary, and Pope Francis lifted Zhan’s excommunication.
Bishop Guo told the diocese that he was stepping down in order not to be “an obstacle to progress.” But AsiaNews reported that the outgoing bishop was “a great confessor of the faith, who has suffered imprisonment many times, [and] out of love for the unity of the Church leaves room for a formerly excommunicated bishop, known by all as ambitious and thirsty for power.”
The Diocese of Mindong (also known as Funing) was posited by AsiaNews as a “pilot project” for the development of Sino-Vatican relations under the terms of the 2018 deal.
Referencing the famous “Rites controversy,” Zhan told the Synod hall that a Synodal Church “means respecting and listening to the voices of different stories, cultures, and traditions in the journey of seeking humanity’s ultimate goal, which is God.”
Giving examples of certain “challenges” present in China, Zhan included among them the issue of “how to adapt to local laws and regulations.”
Diplomatic dialogue in the Synod
The two Chinese bishops were personally chosen by Pope Francis. Alongside them is Taiwan’s Bishop Norbert Pu who serves as a normal representative of the local church. Adding to the party is another Papal choice in Cardinal Stephen Chow SJ, who leads the Diocese of Hong Kong.
Speaking on the sidelines of an event by the Taiwanese Embassy to the Holy See recently, Pu emphasized the importance of dialogue with the Chinese bishops. “It’s very important to dialogue with them, to respect each other. I think it’s good … not only for the Chinese, [but] for the whole Church.”
READ: EXCLUSIVE: Incoming Hong Kong cardinal highlights ‘dialogue’ between Vatican and Communist China
Chow has emphasized the building of bridges with China and organized reciprocal visits for the CCPA clergy. He has also repeatedly posited his diocese as a key link in the dialogue between China and the Holy See.
However, so marked have been Chow’s signs of appeasement to Beijing that a report warned that his Diocese of Hong Kong was actively working with the CCP to effect “sinicization” – the process of state-assimilation and control.
Various Vatican sources have confided to certain members of the Vatican press corps that relations between Beijing and the Vatican have apparently “made progress.” This, the officials said, was largely due to Chow’s approach.
Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin affirmed to this correspondent that the Holy See intends to renew its controversial 2018 deal with Beijing.
With the deal previously being renewed in the fall, an announcement is expected imminently about its future. It now remains to be seen if the Synod dialogue between China, Hong Kong and Taiwan produces good fruit for the Church in the region.
Full coverage of the Synod on Synodality can be found at this link here on LifeSiteNews, and on the X account of LifeSite’s Vatican correspondent.