Nicaragua proposes suspending relations with Vatican
NBCDec 01, 2022
Vatican: China Unilaterally Appointed Bishop to Shanghai Despite Pact
Image copyright: Reuters [via Al Jazeera]
The Facts
The Vatican on Tuesday claimed that Chinese authorities have unilaterally appointed a new bishop to Shanghai, the largest Roman Catholic diocese in China, apparently violating their bilateral, secret deal on the appointment of bishops.
The Holy See's Press Office director, Matteo Bruni, reported that the Roman Catholic Church learned from the media that Bishop Shen Bin was transferred from Haimen to Shanghai.
The Spin
Anti-China narrative
Though Pope Francis is well aware of human rights abuses committed by Beijing that could amount even to crimes against humanity, he has chosen to turn a blind eye based on wishful thinking that the Vatican-China deal would provide the Holy See better access to Catholics in China. It has become crystal clear that Beijing simply does not follow this agreement, and the Vatican must change course and make this deal public and ensure that China respects freedom of religion.
Pro-China narrative
Though it's tempting to reduce decades of a sensitive relationship between China and the Vatican to a simple conflict between good and evil to either attack Pope Francis or Beijing, one can only negatively affect the future and religious liberty of Catholics in China by doing so. The Holy See knows that the 2018 deal is not perfect and could indeed prove ineffective if not accompanied by a deep commitment by both sides. However, this agreement — especially the PRC's involvement — is nevertheless a necessary step to improve the situation of Chinese Catholics.