China unilaterally appoints bishop to Shanghai in violation of Catholic Church agreement: Vatican

Chinese authorities have appointed a new bishop to the largest Roman Catholic diocese in China in violation of a bilateral agreement between the Holy See and China, the Vatican says.  

The Chinese Communist Party-controlled Council of Chinese Bishops appointed Bishop Shen Bin from Haimen, in Jiangsu province, as the new bishop of Shanghai.

"The Holy See had been informed a few days ago of the decision of the Chinese authorities" to transfer the Bishop and "learned from the media of the installation this morning," Matteo Bruni, the director of the Holy See Press Office, said in a statement shared by Vatican News last Tuesday. "I have nothing to say about the Holy See's assessment of the matter."

The Council of Chinese Bishops is headed by Shen himself and is not recognized by the Holy See.

The Shanghai diocese said on its website that around 200 people attended the inauguration ceremony for Bishop Shen. Shen wants to "continue to carry forward the fine tradition of patriotism and love of the Catholic Church in Shanghai" and to "adhere to the principle of independence and self-government."

The Vatican renewed a controversial agreement with China last October, initially enacted in 2018. The agreement allowed the government to submit candidates for bishop offices but supposedly gave the final say to Pope Francis.

"The Vatican is committed to continuing a respectful and constructive dialogue with the Chinese Party for a productive implementation of the Accord and further development of bilateral relations, with a view to fostering the mission of the Catholic Church and the good of the Chinese people," 

The first deal was signed with the hope of bringing peace between the underground congregation loyal to the pope in China and the state-backed official church. In the agreement, both sides acknowledged the pope as the supreme leader of the Catholic Church for the first time since the 1950s.

The unilateral appointment of Bishop Shen comes only months after the Vatican accused Beijing of violating the bilateral accord by installing a bishop in a diocese not recognized by the Holy See.

The Chinese embassy in Rome has not yet responded to the Vatican's statement.

The bishopric of Shanghai has been vacant since the death of Bishop Jin Luxian in April 2013. While the Holy See has stated that the city's auxiliary bishop, Ma Daqin, should administer the diocese, he has been under house arrest since 2012 for publicly rejecting the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, the Communist body governing the local Church.