ZCZC
BFF-15
CHINA-VATICAN-RELIGION
Chinese ‘underground’ bishop gains official recognition: state media
BEIJING, Feb 2, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – A bishop from China’s “underground”
Catholic church is slated to step up as the official state-backed clergyman
for a diocese in central China, state-run media reported, amid a thaw in
relations between Beijing and the Holy See.
China’s estimated 10 million Catholics are legally supposed to attend only
churches governed by a state-controlled body with clergy appointed by the
Communist Party. But many worship in so-called unregistered “underground
churches” led by bishops loyal to the Vatican.
An agreement struck in September on the appointment of bishops has paved
the way for a rapprochement between Beijing and the Vatican after diplomatic
ties were cut off in 1951. It also gives both sides a say in appointing
Catholic bishops in China.
Jin Lugang was inaugurated as coadjutor bishop for the Nanyang diocese in
central China, the Global Times reported Friday, and will assist 98-year-old
diocesan bishop Zhu Baoyu until his retirement.
“I think it is a good thing,” said Anthony Lam, a Chinese Catholic church
expert at Hong Kong’s Holy Spirit Study Centre, noting that there are about
40 vacancies that need to be filled in dioceses across China.
Though the Holy See has appointed at least 20 clergymen to fill these
spots, the Chinese government has not yet approved them, he told AFP.
“They are too nervous,” he said, referring to the local governments who are
now tasked with vetting the appointees. “To some extent, it’s their
recommendation to the central government that these people are reliable, you
can trust him, he will not do anything harmful to the government.”
That’s why some government officials are adopting a cautious attitude and
holding some cases for long periods of time, he explained.
China’s Catholic community urgently needs bishops that are “politically
reliable”, with nearly half of dioceses without bishops, said the Global
Times in its report.
Jin’s official ordination follows a clampdown on religious worship in
China, where churches were destroyed in some regions and several church-run
kindergartens closed last year. Authorities have also cracked down on Bible
sales.
Last month, dozens of members of a prominent unofficial Protestant church
went missing in southwest China after authorities raided their homes,
churchgoers said.
Police have detained the church pastor, who faces allegations of “inciting
state subversion”, according to the Early Rain Covenant Church in Chengdu,
the capital of Sichuan province.
Local authorities have also apprehended other church members under
suspicion of “picking quarrels”, as well as “illegal operations” for selling
Bibles and religious books, the church said.
BSS/AFP/MR/1149 hrs