Vatican, China still at odds on new bishops’ appointments?
January 30, 2025
» Continue to this story on Diakonos
CWN Editor's Note: While the Vatican and the Chinese government have agreed on the appointment of new Catholic bishops in recent weeks—an apparent indication that the secret deal between Rome and Beijing is working—the Belgian Diakonos web site calls attention to the revealing contrasts between the way Rome and Beijing announced the new bishops’ appointments.
This month the Vatican announced the consecration of Bishop Anthony Ji Weizhong on Luliang, saying that Pope Francis had appointed him in late October. But the official Chinese announcement, said that he was elected in mid-July, suggesting “that it took more than three months for Rome to digest the appointment decided on unilaterally by Beijing.”
Diakonos also notes that the Vatican has redrawn the lines of Chinese dioceses to conform to Beijing’s administrative divisions, and Vatican announcements have avoided references to “archdioceses,” apparently because China insists that all dioceses must be treated as equal.
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