Burn of the Day

There are folks who claim that the Chinese/Vatican “Arrangement” is a different thing entirely because, so they say, the Chinese provide Rome with names of acceptable candidates, and Rome approves bishops from that list. And that might be how it works— sometimes. But mostly China does as it wishes and Rome meekly acquiesces.

In 2018 the Chinese government unilaterally merged five dioceses into one enormous diocese of Jiangxi. Rome was not consulted in the creation of this diocese. In 2022 the Chinese government installed Giovanni Peng Weizhao bishop of this new diocese. Rome complained that these actions violated the spirit of their Arrangement— and the Chinese shrugged and carried on, unbothered.

In 2023 the Chinese unilaterally transferred Bishop Shen Bin from his diocese of Haimen to the diocese of Shanghai. Not only was Rome not consulted, the Chinese didn’t even have the courtesy to inform the Holy See of what they’d done: the Vatican explicitly stated they’d learned about the transfer “from the media”. Again, Rome complained that these actions violated the Arrangement the Chinese had with the Holy See, and again the Chinese shrugged and carried on, unbothered. Later that year Francis belatedly recognized Bishop Shen Bin as Bishop of Shanghai “for the greater good of the diocese”. No doubt that gave the Chinese a good laugh.

Bishop Shen Bin has subsequently been ‘elected’ to be the president of the Council of Chinese Bishops— which is basically the state-approved Chinese version of our USCCB. If you guessed that the Chinese created that organization without consulting or involving Rome, you’d be correct.

In 2025, during the sede vacante, the Chinese installed Fr. Wu Jianlin as auxiliary bishop of Shanghai, and Fr. Li Jianlin as bishop of Xinxiang. Those two priests had no papal mandate for their consecrations because at the time, there was no Pope to give it. What’s worse, before his death Francis had already recognized a different bishop for the Xinxiang diocese!

So by this point the Chinese are consecrating bishops, creating dioceses, transferring bishops, creating and controlling a national bishop’s council, and deposing bishops appointed by Rome in favor of men of their own choosing— all without even giving Rome the courtesy of a heads-up.

I’m not sure what leverage the Chinese Communists have on the Holy See, but two things are clear: the Chinese hold all the cards, and they have nothing but contempt for Rome.