Even as Pope Francis is undertakes a pilgrimage of penance across Canada – apologising for past atrocities committed by Catholic clergy against indigenous peoples – he has indicated the Vatican’s deal with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), a regime known for its brutality and repression, will be renewed once more. Coming just after reports that the Vatican’s unofficial representative in Hong Kong warned Catholics the freedoms of the past were over, Pope Francis said he hoped the Vatican’s deal with the CCP can be renewed, since the Church takes the long view on the matter. The deal – struck in 2018 with Beijing – was already renewed once in 2020. 

In the deal, the Vatican and the CCP agreed to cooperate in the selection of bishops of a united Catholic Church in China. Beijing now appoints bishops through the Bishops Conference of Catholic Church in China (BCCCC). The objective is a merger of the Underground Catholic Church into the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association (CPCA). The Vatican has now effectively legitimised the CPCA, thus delegitimising the underground church. Those like Bishop Augustine Cui Tai, who “conscientiously object” to the CPCA, are permitted to do so, although the Holy See would prefer no objection. Bishop Cui Tai, meanwhile, is still in jail although the Vatican has asked for his release. 

At the same time as the Church seeks reconciliation in North America, begging forgiveness for its neglect of those in its care, it is seemingly ignoring the plight of Catholics (and, indeed, other minorities) in China when it has a great and unique opportunity to act. Back in 2020, a communiqué released by the Holy See’s Press Office said: “The Holy See considers the initial application of the agreement – which is of great ecclesial and pastoral value – to have been positive”. Yet, it is now estimated that between 20 and 50 million Chinese Christians have experienced persecution in recent years, while a 2020 report by the US Congressional-Executive Commission on China found that Chinese Catholics suffered “increasing persecution” after the deal was signed. Religious education, moreover, remains illegal for under-18s, while churches are now monitored with CCTV.

According to Cardinal Joseph Zen of Hong Kong, arrested by CCP authorities this year: “The Vatican may have acted out of good faith, but they have made an unwise decision.” Yet, Pope Francis has defended the deal in terms of statecraft, drawing comparisons with outreach by Popes John XXII and Paul VI when the Vatican struck deals with central and eastern European countries to keep the Church alive during the Cold War. But this ignores the fact that during the Cold War such regimes did not attempt to select bishops, nor attempt (or have the means to enforce) the type of surveillance of Catholics and other Christians underway in China. Indeed, the Church is subject to nothing like this type of control in other communist countries like Cuba or Vietnam, both with sizeable Catholic populations.

It seems that the wrong conclusions have been drawn from the past. Bishops continue to be persecuted in China. The renewal of the deal without any conditions attached will ensure that persecution of Catholics continues. And yet, the Vatican is the only European state which recognises Taiwan. Taking a strong stance against the CCP now would send a powerful message given ongoing tensions in the region. It would also send a message to Catholic-majority countries like Brazil and the Philippines, whose relationship with China has been ambiguous to say the least. The Vatican is also not weighed down by economic considerations which other countries must factor in when dealing with China. In essence, it has a golden opportunity to act.

The examples of the past then are bad ones to use today, while the Vatican could be missing a unique opportunity to take a stand. In central and eastern Europe, communist governments neither had the means nor the inclination to persecute and watch over Catholics as the CCP does. Moreover, Catholicism was the historic majority faith of the people there, and Christianity was the historic majority faith of people in the wider region, such as the Soviet Union. Such conditions do not hold for China. The wrong lessons have been drawn from past dealings with communist regimes. At the very least, renewal of the deal with the CCP could be conditional on release of clerics like Bishop Cui Tai. Right now, the Pope is in Canada attempting to correct mistakes of the past. The Church should today ensure that a future Pope will not have to make another pilgrimage of penance to east Asia.

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