The Pope appoints the Chinese bishop while keeping Vatican-Bei historian …- Theconclaveng

Pope Leo XIV has appointed his papacy’s first Chinese bishop, reporting that he will continue a historical agreement that has tried to improve the relationships between the Vatican and China.

Both parties greeted the appointment of the Auxiliary Bishop of Fuzhou Joseph Lin YUNTUAN as affirmation of their commitment for the 2018 agreement, which was achieved under the late Pope Francis.

The agreement gave Chinese officials a contribution on the appointment of bishops.

However, its contents have never been completely disclosed to the public.

Beijing insists that the state must approve the appointment of the bishops in China, correlating contrary to the insistence of the Catholic Church on the fact that it is a papal decision.

China has about 10 million Catholics.

Currently, they face the choice to attend the churches sanctioned by the state approved by Beijing or adopting in underground congregations that lent loyalty to the Vatican.

On Wednesday, the Vatican said that Yuntuan Ministry was “recognized” by Chinese law.

“This event constitutes a further result of the dialogue between the Holy See and the Chinese authorities and is an important step in the journey of the communion of the diocese,” said the Vatican.

As a question about the appointment of Yuntuan, the spokesman for the Foreign Ministry Lin Jian told journalists on Thursday that this showed how the 2018 agreement had been “implemented without hitches”, according to what was reported by the average state.

China is willing to work with the Vatican to continue improving relationships, he said.

The Pope’s move shows a “will to support reconciliation rather than antagonism”, Michel Chambon, a researcher at the Asia Research Institute of Singapore who wrote widely on the Catholic Church, told Reuters News Agency.

In September 2018, Pope Francis recognized seven bishops appointed by China.

The Vatican also recognized posthumously an eighth bishop who died the previous year.

For the first time, China interrupted diplomatic ties with the Holy See in 1951 and many Catholics were forced to go underground during the domain of the former communist leader Mao Zedong, emerging only in the 80s when religious practices were tolerated again.

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