This is the third renewal of an agreement which, with its signature on 22 September 2018, had opened a historic page in relations between the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China, and within the Church of the Great Eastern country itself, allowing all bishops to be in full hierarchical communion with the Pope. The new signature of the two parties on the Provisional Agreement – which will be valid from today for the next four years – follows that of the first renewal for two years in 2020 and that of a second two-year period signed exactly on 22 October 2022.
Respectful and constructive dialogue
The official statement reporting the news explains the decision, taken “after appropriate consultations and evaluations”, thanks to the “consensus reached for a fruitful application” of the Agreement on the appointment of bishops. It specifies that the “Vatican side maintains the intention of continuing the respectful and constructive dialogue with the Chinese side, for the development of bilateral relations because of the good of the Catholic Church in the country and all the Chinese people”.
A new scenario
The Provisional Agreement had put an end to decades in which episcopal ordinations took place without papal consent. A scenario that has changed radically in the last six years, during which there have been a dozen appointments and consecrations of bishops and, at the same time, the officialisation of the public role of some prelates previously not recognised by Beijing. A sign of the new collaboration is also attested by the presence of bishops from mainland China at the Synods in the Vatican and other events in Europe and America, as well as the presence of young people at last year’s WYD in Lisbon, and a general participation of Chinese faithful in the apostolic trips made by Pope Francis to the East in recent years.
