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Pope Francis confirms Shanghai bishop appointed in violation of Vatican-China deal



Pope Francis has decided to approve the appointment of the bishop of Shanghai who was previously installed by Chinese authorities without the Vatican’s approval.To get more news about shanghai, you can visit shine news official website.

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin announced on Saturday that Pope Francis wanted to “remedy the canonical irregularity created in Shanghai, in view of the greater good of the diocese and the fruitful exercise of the bishop’s pastoral ministry.”

Parolin said that the pope’s “intention is fundamentally pastoral” and will allow the bishop to “work with greater serenity to promote evangelization and foster ecclesial communion.”

Bishop Joseph Shen Bin was installed in Shanghai in April in violation of the Holy See’s provisional agreement with Beijing on the appointment of bishops. It was the second unauthorized appointment by Chinese authorities in the past year.
Pope Francis formally confirmed Shen Bin for the Shanghai post on July 15. Parolin said that the Vatican intentionally made “the decision to take time before publicly commenting on the case” to evaluate the pastoral situation in Shanghai, which has been without a bishop for over a decade.

In an interview with Vatican News published with the announcement of the Chinese bishop’s appointment, Parolin underlined that it is “indispensable, that all episcopal appointments in China, including transfers, be made by consensus, as agreed, and keeping alive the spirit of dialogue” between the Holy See and China.

The Holy See first entered into a provisional two-year agreement with Beijing on the appointment of bishops in 2018, which was renewed in 2020 and again in 2022.

One month after the Holy See agreed to renew the deal last October, the Vatican said that Chinese authorities violated the terms stipulated in the agreement by installing Bishop John Peng Weizhao as an “auxiliary bishop of Jiangxi,” a diocese that is not recognized by the Vatican.Parolin explained that the text of the provisional agreement has been kept confidential “because it has not yet been definitively approved.”

“It revolves around the fundamental principle of consensual decisions affecting bishops,” he said.

“We are, therefore, trying to clarify this point, in an open dialogue and in a respectful confrontation with the Chinese side.”

When asked what other topics need to be discussed in the Vatican’s dialogue with China, Parolin listed evangelization, the bishops’ conference, and the communication between Chinese bishops and the pope.

The cardinal called for a Chinese bishops’ conference with “statutes appropriate to its ecclesial nature and pastoral mission” and the establishment of regular communication between Chinese bishops and the pope.
In fact, it must be said that too many suspicions slow down and hinder the work of evangelization: Chinese Catholics, even those defined as ‘underground,’ deserve trust, because they sincerely want to be loyal citizens and to be respected in their conscience and in their faith,” Parolin said.

Despite the repeated violations, Parolin added that the Holy See is “determined” to continue dialogue with China.

“Indeed, the dialogue between the Vatican side and the Chinese side remains open and I believe that it is a path that is in some way obligatory,” he said.

“In order to make it smoother and more fruitful, it seems to me that the opening of a stable liaison office of the Holy See in China would be extremely useful. I take the liberty of adding that, in my opinion, such a presence would not only favor dialogue with the civil authorities but would also contribute to full reconciliation within the Chinese Church and its journey towards desirable normality.