The Sinicization of religion in China, which means the subjugation of religion and religious institutions to the doctrines and dictates of the Chinese Communist Party, is also subjugating the Catholic Church.
The non-news reported by He Yuyan is that “Business [Is] as Usual for the Pro-CCP Diocese of Beijing” despite the hopes of some that things might be different because a new bishop, Auxiliary Bishop Zhen Xuebin, had been “consecrated with papal approval” (Bitter Winter, December 12, 2024).
But the Forum was CCP propaganda as usual….
The 9th Tiandao Forum was held on November 30. Expectations were high, considering that the co-leader of the forum was Auxiliary Bishop Zhen Xuebin, who had been consecrated on October 25 with Vatican approval. Unlike in other cases, the Vatican-China deal of 2018 was respected. Pope Francis approved the appointment on August 28, some two months before Zhen’s consecration by Beijing Bishop Li Shan.
Zhen was expected to be a poster bishop for the recently renewed Vatican-China deal, one who would prove to the world the benefits of the agreement….
Beijing Catholics who attended the 2024 Tiandao Forum did not report to Bitter Winter anything new with respect to the previous editions. The top local leaders of the United Front Work Department were there and gave speeches. According to the press release, Bishop Li Shan “thanked the leaders of the Central United Front Work Department, the Municipal United Front Work Department, the Municipal Ethnic and Religious Affairs Commission, and other government departments for their care and guidance.”…
“Sinicization”…was hailed in all speeches, including the final remarks by Bishop Zhen Xuebin.
He Yuyan stresses that Sinicization is not about making Chinese Catholicism “more Chinese” but about making it “more closely connected to the CCP.”
Not all religious institutions, churches, or religious meetings are being Sinicized in China. But anybody participating in religious practice not officially approved and regulated by the Chinese government is subject to its unremitting harassment.
Bitter Winter’s report is that Pope Francis had not, this time, been presented with a fait accompli, with the CCP appointing a bishop and the Pope hearing about it and being invited to sign off only after the fact.
No change
But did the consultation, if there was one this time, have any meaning or effect? The Pope’s alleged involvement in the appointment of Auxiliary Bishop Zhen Xuebin (shown above) does not seem to have served the religious goals of the Catholic Church or manifested papal authority.
Is this really the guy Pope Francis wanted, another spouter and sponsor of Chinese Communist Party propaganda?
