Why has Pope Francis decided to recognize a bishop installed by Chinese authorities in violation of the historic Sino-Vatican agreement more than three months after he was appointed to China’s largest diocese?
For Father Criveller, PIME missionary and China expert, by appointing Shen Bin as bishop of Shanghai, the pope shows that he cares for the people of God and we are with him. But Card Parolin’s interview clearly indicates that the Holy See is disappointed by the situation. It is hard to imagine that Chinese authorities, who are bent on nationalising religions, would stop acting unilaterally.
(OSV News) When Pope Benedict XVI instituted the Day of Prayer for Catholics in China in 2007, Aloysius Jin Luxian was bishop of Shanghai. That year, an article in The Atlantic monthly described Bishop Jin as arguably the most influential and controversial figure in Chinese Catholicism of the last 50 years.
Fast forward 16 years. Bishop Jin has died, and Shanghai Auxiliary Bishop Thaddeus Ma Daqin is still under house arrest since 2012 for publicly quitting the government-controlled Chines