Vatican and China reach 'provisional' deal on appointment of bishops

The Vatican said on Saturday that it had reached a “provisional agreement” with China on the process used to appoint bishops, a breakthrough after years of contentious negotiations on the management of Catholic leadership in the communist country.

The deal paves the way for bishops to be recognized by the Vatican and the Chinese government, a step toward ending the current system — one that has divided followers — in which some bishops are backed by only one side or the other.

The accord marks a potentially transformative step in relations between the world’s most populous country and one of the most powerful religious institutions.

Some outside experts say the agreement could end seven decades of strain between the sides, opening the door for the possible resumption of diplomatic ties, which were severed in 1951.

Beijing and the Holy See have long been at odds on leadership of Catholics in China, where the government has appointed bishops and authorized which churches can operate.

Their deal comes even as President Xi Jinping has tightened his grip on power, cracking down on freedoms and saying that any practice of religion must be “Chinese in orientation.”

For Pope Francis, the outreach to China has been perhaps his most ambitious diplomatic venture, an effort to broaden the appeal of a faith that has lost ground in much of the Western world and is dealing now with a global wave of sexual abuse cases.

Catholicism is one of the five religions officially tolerated by Chinese leaders; but it has been steadily eclipsed in popularity by Protestant and evangelical denominations.

At: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/vatican-and-china-reach-provisional-deal-on-the-appointment-of-bishops/2018/09/22/8e2054e6-be59-11e8-8792-78719177250f_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.bc4b105c7ae8

Pope Francis (then Cardinal Bergoglio) and his Chinese-Argentine doctor, Liu Ming (right), around 2005. For Francis, a Catholic rapprochement with China has long been a personal goal.