BEIJING: Beijing hailed on Thursday improving ties with the Vatican after the first appointment of a Chinese bishop under Pope Leo XIV, signaling the new pontiff\u2019s support for a controversial accord on nominations struck by his predecessor.<\/p>\n
The Holy See expressed \u201csatisfaction\u201d on Wednesday at the recognition by China of the appointment of Joseph Lin Yuntuan as auxiliary bishop of Fuzhou, capital of eastern Fujian province. The pope made the nomination on June 5.<\/p>\n
Beijing\u2019s foreign ministry said the naming of the first Chinese bishop under the new pope had \u201cenhanced understanding and mutual trust through constructive dialogue\u201d with the Vatican.<\/p>\n
\u201cChina is willing to work together with the Vatican to promote the continuous improvement of China-Vatican relations,\u201d foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said at a regular news briefing.<\/p>\n
The Vatican and China do not have formal diplomatic relations because the Holy See recognizes Taiwan, the self-ruled island that Beijing claims as its own territory.<\/p>\n
However, they agreed in a historic deal in 2018 to let both sides have a say in the naming of bishops in China, home to about 12 million Catholics.<\/p>\n
The deal \u2013 the text of which has never been made public \u2013 has drawn criticism within the Church, with some seeing it as allowing the Communist Party government a stranglehold over China\u2019s Catholics.<\/p>\n
The deal was renewed several times as Pope Francis sought to make inroads for the Church in China, most recently in October 2024 for four years.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the joint efforts of both sides, the provisional agreement on the appointment of bishops has been smoothly implemented,\u201d Lin Jian said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BEIJING: Beijing hailed on Thursday improving ties with the Vatican after the first appointment of a Chinese bishop under Pope Leo XIV, signaling the new pontiff\u2019s support for a controversial accord on nominations struck by his predecessor. The Holy See expressed \u201csatisfaction\u201d on Wednesday at the recognition by China of the appointment of Joseph Lin […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":483759,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-483744","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n