China’s Catholic Church: Xi’s Sinicization Campaign and the Vatican’s Role

The Vatican has been widely criticized for its 2018 provisional agreement with China. While the agreement’s contents are secret, the Holy See revealed that it gives Beijing a role, along with at least a papal right to veto, in appointing Catholic bishops in China. Due to President Xi Jinping’s “Sinicization” of religion campaign, eight years on, the agreement is even more disastrous than previously thought.

Last month, the agreement saw 44-year-old parish priest Father Andrew Ding appointed archbishop of the megacity of Chongqing. His chief distinction is his position as vice secretary of China’s Council of Catholic Bishops, part of the Chinese Communist Party United Front’s China Patriotic Catholic Association. Another recent appointee, to head Zhangjiakou diocese, is Bishop Joseph Wang, the deputy director of the Patriotic Association of Hebei province. He replaced long-detained Bishop Augustine Cui Tai, whom the Vatican retired without clarifying whether he was free.

About the Author

Nina Shea

Nina Shea is director of Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom and author of the new report “Ten Persecuted Catholic Bishops in China”

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The Vatican has been widely criticized for its 2018 provisional agreement with China. While the agreement’s contents are secret, the Holy See revealed that it gives Beijing a role, along with at least a papal right to veto, in appointing Catholic bishops in China. Due to President Xi Jinping’s “Sinicization” of religion campaign, eight years on, the agreement is even more disastrous than previously thought.

Last month, the agreement saw 44-year-old parish priest Father Andrew Ding appointed archbishop of the megacity of Chongqing. His chief distinction is his position as vice secretary of China’s Council of Catholic Bishops, part of the Chinese Communist Party United Front’s China Patriotic Catholic Association. Another recent appointee, to head Zhangjiakou diocese, is Bishop Joseph Wang, the deputy director of the Patriotic Association of Hebei province. He replaced long-detained Bishop Augustine Cui Tai, whom the Vatican retired without clarifying whether he was free.