Vatican’s deal with Beijing: an understandable gamble – Ian Johnson

 

Ian Johnson

This month the provisory agreement for cooperating on the nomination of bishops between the Vatican and the Chinese government is up for renewable. Journalist Ian Johnson, author of The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao, explains why the deal was for the Roman-Catholic church an “understandable gamble,” according to the NCR.

NCR:

Ian Johnson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist for The New York Times and the New York Review of Books who has spent much time in the country, told the Austrian radio station ORF Sept. 2 that the “status quo” that existed before the agreement “did not work” and that “critics must also recognize that the old method did not succeed, that it failed.”

Johnson added that the agreement also came at a time when there were “fewer and fewer priests and fewer and fewer religious people in China.” The Church, he said, “was in freefall.” He argued that it was “fine to criticize the Pope, but people must also understand that he had to act and try something to counteract this reality.”

Precise details of the provisional agreement, which comes up for renewal on Sept. 22 two years after it was signed, have still to be published but it is thought to give more powers to the Chinese authorities to appoint new bishops. The Pope is believed to be able to veto their choices, though not unlimitedly….

Johnson, however, argued that the Vatican’s “understandable gamble” to sign the agreement came about because of increasingly difficult circumstances. “When it is difficult to consecrate bishops, or to ordain priests, or when you do not have legitimate priests to keep the Church going, it becomes very difficult for the Church to progress,” he said.

He conceded that the agreement “has not yet worked as the Vatican had hoped” but he believed it is too early to make a final judgment. He hypothesized that if an agreement with China had been made 20 or 30 years ago, it would be possible to see success now, echoing Cardinal Parolin’s call in 2019 to take a longer perspective given that “history was not built in one day; history is a long process.”

Father Bernardo Cervellera, the director of AsiaNews who has served as a missionary in China, noted that the “old method” Johnson mentions — the Vatican’s tough stance on religious freedom without the help of formal diplomatic relations — had certainly led to a “very difficult situation,” such as illegitimate bishops and priests and division, but he did not understand how that approach was a failure except in a diplomatic sense. …

From Beijing’s point of view, the agreement has also been challenging, according to Johnson, who said the regime has found it “very difficult” to allow an external organization like the Vatican to determine clerical affairs in China — a factor that perhaps explains why state media have said very little publicly about the deal.

“The interests of the Vatican and those of China differ widely,” he said, but both he and Father Cervellera agree that one motivating factor for Beijing is the elimination of the underground Church. …

Johnson believes that the length of the process of unifying the Church will be determined by these challenges on both sides. The Vatican, he said, hopes the divisions will be overcome and “the Church become younger, more flexible, stronger.” But he believes it will not be an easy task because the distrust towards the official church remains great.

“There is a lot of distrust in the same city, in the same village, between the underground Church and the state church,” Johnson said. “It is unrealistic to think that they will all become one. It will take a long time.”

More at the NCR.

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First Rome-approved bishop good news for Vatican - Ian Johnson

Ian Johnson

The first ordination of a bishop, Father Yao Shun, approved by the Pope and the central government is good news for the Vatican, says journalist Ian Johnson, author of The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao, to AFP. 

 AFP:

State media reports said another Chinese bishop was set to be ordained Wednesday, although the official church did not confirm this. 

Pope Francis recognised seven clergy appointed by China as part of the September deal, despite fears the accord would be used by Beijing to further crack down on worshippers outside the official church. 

"The consecration of Father Yao Shun is good news for the Vatican," said Ian Johnson, an author who writes on Chinese religion. 

"This was someone they wanted installed in office and now Beijing has allowed that to happen. 

It shows that the compromises are not all one-way, which is how some of the Pope's critics have portrayed the deal." 

Although ties have improved as China's Catholic population grows and the Vatican intensifies efforts to restore relations, tensions remain. 

The Vatican is the only European diplomatic ally of self-ruled Taiwan, which is viewed by China as a breakaway province awaiting reunification.

More at AFP.

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Divided Catholics face Beijing-Vatican deal - Ian Johnson

Ian Johnson

China's central government and the Vatican closed a deal on appointments of Catholic bishops in China, causing debate among the already divided Catholics in the country, writes journalist Ian Johnson, author of The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao at the New York Times. The way the Communist-ruled state church might integrate with the Roman Catholic church might not please all Catholics, he writes.

Ian Johnson:

Several underground bishops in China, including two popular bishops in staunchly Catholic parts of the country, are expected to step down to make way for the bishops appointed by Beijing over the past decade whom the pope has agreed to recognize. In exchange, the pope is gaining some role in the appointment of new bishops. There are about 100 bishops and prelates in China, including underground and approved, and a dozen vacant positions. 

Exactly how this will work is unclear. Both sides have described the agreement signed on Saturday as preliminary, and neither has released details. But some informal veto system seems likely. The Vatican could reject candidates suggested by the Chinese authorities, although mainly through quiet consultation rather than formal voting. 

In the long run, diplomatic ties could be restored between Beijing and the Vatican.

Some Chinese Catholics see this as helping a church that has been unable to respond to changing times. China is rapidly urbanizing, for example, but many rural Catholics find little outreach when they migrate to take jobs in the cities. A unified church could address that. 

“I think if it helps unite the church, then it’s a good thing,” said You Yongxin, a Catholic writer based in the eastern Chinese city of Fuzhou. “If the pope is convinced he can get good bishops appointed through this deal, then we have to trust that he will.” 

Indeed, if carried out as advertised, the deal would give the church a formal role in appointing clergy members in party-controlled churches in China for the first time in nearly 70 years. That would be a significant concession by the government. By contrast, Beijing doesn’t give the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, the Dalai Lama, any say over the appointment of monks or abbots.

Still, the deal came as a shock for many Chinese Catholics. 

Paul Dong Guanhua, a self-ordained bishop in the underground church in the northern Chinese city of Zhengding, said it made no sense that Beijing would sign on to any deal that could strengthen the church. 

“Well, if there’s an agreement, there’s an agreement,” he said in a telephone interview. “But I find it absurd, and I wonder how many other Catholics can agree with this decision.” 

Other prominent underground clergy members, like Guo Xijin, one of the bishops who reportedly would have to step down under the deal, could not be reached for comment. In an interview earlier this year, Bishop Guo told The New York Times that he would step down if asked by the pope. 

Rome will also have to win over skeptical Catholics in Taiwan and Hong Kong, said Lawrence C. Reardon, a professor of political science at the University of New Hampshire who studies Beijing-Vatican relations.

More in the New York Times.

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Why Beijing and the Vatican are eager to close a deal - Ian Johnson

Ian Johnson

Despite fierce opposition, both the Vatican and the central government in Beijing seem very eager to sign a deal on reestablishing diplomatic relations. Journalist Ian Johnson, who broke the story end January, and author of The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao tries to figure out why both a so eager to push ahead, he tells at PRI. The real issue for both is about social control, he says.

PRI:

 The Vatican has centuries of experience in China. It was Jesuit priests who first established a permanent place for Christianity in China starting in the 16th century. Francis is the first Jesuit to become pope, and he appears eager to heal the divide running through Catholicism in China by normalizing relations between the Vatican and Beijing. 

Those diplomatic ties were severed in 1951, soon after the communists took control of the mainland. Life for Chinese Catholics has been complicated, to say the least, ever since. For the Chinese government, re-establishing diplomatic relations with the Vatican would be a victory for public diplomacy. But the real motivation for Xi and his government is about social control, says Ian Johnson. 

“Beijing just issued new regulations on religion that call for even tighter control on religion,” says Johnson, author of “The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao.” 

“This is not really a socially reform-minded administration that’s willing to open up or take a gamble. I think if a deal presents itself, that’s great. They’ll do it. But if not, they’re probably happy to walk away.” 

Another attractive possibility for Beijing in all this is related to Taiwan, which China considers a renegade province. The Holy See is one of just 20 states with diplomatic ties to Taiwan. If normalizing the relationship with mainland China coincided with breaking the Vatican’s recognition of Taiwan, that would be something Xi could celebrate. 

For his part, Francis would like to heal the rift running through Catholic life in China. He'd also like to grow the church in that country. There are an estimated 10-12 million Catholics in China. By comparison, Protestants — and this is a low estimate — number around 60 million there. 

Legally, China does recognize Catholicism as one of the country’s five official religions. The authorities in Beijing even help appoint some Catholic bishops in China. This has long been a sticky issue for the Vatican. 

In recent weeks, the pope has shown he is willing to be flexible on this issue. Papal authorities asked two underground Chinese bishops to resign and make way for candidates approved by the Chinese government. 

“Many Catholics don’t feel comfortable going to the officially recognized Catholic Church, because many of those bishops and the priests under them, who they appointed, were not approved by Rome,” Johnson says. 

“Some people think, ‘I’m not being loyal. I’m not being a good Catholic. I’m not being loyal to the pope if I go to these official churches.’” 

“It’s a difficult situation, and it slows the growth of the religion,” Johnson adds.

 More at PRI 

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How the Vatican changed its position to China - Ian Johnson

Ian Johnson

The Roman Catholic Church at the Vatican has shocked its communities in China by asking two "underground" bishops by complying to the country's rulers. Journalist Ian Johnson, author of The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao, tries to make sense out of the move for the New York Times.

Ian Johnson:

In a statement released on Monday, the former bishop of Hong Kong, Cardinal Joseph Zen, confirmed the broad outlines of the Vatican’s recent efforts, writing that he traveled to Rome this month to personally deliver to the pope a letter from an underground bishop who had refused to resign. 

The letter came from Bishop Zhuang Jianjian of the southern Chinese city of Shantou, an 88-year-old who had been secretly ordained in 2006 with Vatican approval. 

In December, Bishop Zhuang was escorted by government officials to Beijing, where he was taken to the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse to meet a papal delegation believed to have been headed by Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, who leads the Vatican’s China negotiating team... 

In his statement on Monday, Cardinal Zen said that when he delivered Bishop Zhuang’s letter to the pope, the pontiff expressed sympathy for the underground bishops, telling the cardinal that his negotiators should not “create another Mindszenty case,” a reference to a pro-democracy bishop in Hungary who was forced out of his country in 1956 and replaced with a person acceptable to the government. 

Cardinal Zen wrote that he had been heartened by the words. “I was there in the presence of the Holy Father representing my suffering brothers in China,” he said. “His words should be rightly understood as of consolation and encouragement more for them than for me.” 

The Rev. Bernardo Cervellera, the editor of Asianews.it, said the developments showed that Vatican negotiators were prepared to give the Chinese government “carte blanche, and accept all requests and pose no opposition on questions that affect the church in China.” 

But Father Cervellera said the pope’s reported comments to Cardinal Zen may have signaled that he was not entirely in agreement with his negotiators. 

People following the issue said that the highly unusual series of events showed how badly the Vatican wanted a deal. 

“The fact that both sides can carry on the negotiation till now shows that the Vatican must consider this a rare opportunity,” said Wang Meixiu, a researcher on Chinese Catholicism at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing. 

Dr. Chen (Dr. Chen Tsung-ming, research director at the Ferdinand Verbiest Institute) in Belgium said that one reason for the Vatican’s eagerness was a sense that the faith had been growing relatively slowly compared with other religions in China. While the number of Protestants has grown from one million in 1949 to at least 50 million today, the number of Catholics has largely tracked population growth, increasing from three million in that period to at most 12 million today, in part because of the schism in the Chinese Catholic Church. 

The pope’s background as a priest in the Society of Jesus may also play a role, Dr. Chen said. Jesuits arrived in China more than 400 years ago, establishing a permanent presence for the church on the mainland after several failed efforts in earlier centuries. But they did so by being extremely flexible and conforming to local norms — a point that may be informing the pope’s negotiating approach. 

“He has a sense of mission,” Dr. Chen said. “There’s a historic responsibility.”

More details in the New York Times.

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Catholics in China: small but influential - Ian Johnson

Ian Johnson

Recent rumors about better relations between China´s central government and the Vatican has put attention to the small but influential following of the Vatican in China. Author Ian Johnson of the forthcoming book The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao elaborates at the NPR.

The NPR:

Ren (Yanli, an expert on Chinese Catholics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing) says for China, this is an issue of face. And you might think that for the Vatican, the appeal would be China's 1.3 billion souls and the potential to attract them. But Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ian Johnson says it's more than that. 

Johnson, the author of a forthcoming book, The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao, says for the Vatican, this is primarily about those who are already with the church. 

"It's a way to help Catholics in China so that they're part of legitimate church," says Johnson. "And I think from Beijing's point of view, it's a way to make sure this small but perhaps influential group of Chinese is under some sort of structure the [Communist] party could feel comfortable with. They don't like having an underground church. They want to bring everybody into the fold." 

Officially, there are eight bishops in China, appointed by the government-run Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association. The Vatican doesn't recognize them. Then there are 30 Vatican-approved bishops, whom China's government won't recognize.

More at the NPR.

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The People´s Pope – A review by Zhang Lijia

Zhang Lijia

Author Zhang Lijia enthusiastically reviews on her weblog Eight Juxtapositions: China Through Imperfect Analogies: Penguin Specials by Jeff Wasserstrom. "In the final chapter entitled The People’s Pope and Big Daddy Xi, he compared the Chinese Communist Party with the Catholic Church and the president Xi with the Pope."

Zhang Lijia:

China is unique, a fact that the authorities very much like to explore, for example, stressing that the country is so unique that the normal practice of human rights or democracy don’t apply to the Chinese reality. 

It seems impossible to make comparisons with China because of this. Yet, Jeff Wasserstrom, Chancellor’s Professor of history at the University of California, Irvine, made some highly interesting comparisons in his book Eight Juxtapositions: China Through Imperfect Analogies from Mark Twain to Manchukuo. 

Imperfect may be, how nuanced and insightful they are. For example, in the final chapter entitled The People’s Pope and Big Daddy Xi, he compared the Chinese Communist Party with the Catholic Church and the president Xi with the Pope. You may smile when you read the headline. After your tour of the Vatican City, guided by the Wasserstrom, (with a stop-over in front of Raphael’s School of Athens), you’ll laugh, in agreement with him, slapping your leg: “Exactly!

More at Zhang Lijia´s weblog.

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