The Chinese government has recognized the authority of Tianjin Catholic Bishop Melchior Shi Hongzhen, the Vatican said Tuesday. Shi was previously under house arrest for refusing to join China's state-backed church structure.
“This development is a positive result of the dialogue built up over the years between the Holy See and the Chinese government,” the Vatican said in a statement.
The Vatican reached a landmark agreement with the Chinese government in 2018, which was renewed in 2022, regarding the appointment of bishops in the country.
The deal gives Chinese officials some insight into who Pope Francis appoints as bishops in the country and seeks to ease tensions in China between Catholics loyal to the pope and the state-backed church.
Shi, 94, who has been bishop of Tianjin, North China, since 2019, was ordained a Catholic bishop in 1982 and refused to join the state-run church.
Shi took part in Tuesday's inauguration ceremony as part of his official recognition by the government, media reported. AsiaNews. The ceremony took place at a hotel, rather than a church, to emphasize that Shi had been ordained a bishop decades ago, the report said.
The Vatican and Beijing are scheduled to decide this fall whether to renew an agreement on the appointment of bishops. The Vatican's top diplomat, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said in May that the church hoped to renew the pact. (uh)
