They think the Vatican and Chinese government's plan to sign an agreement about appointing bishops will mean legitimate bishops will have to step down in favour of state-appointed ones.

The agreement, which is only "a few months" away, would allow the Vatican to help appoint bishops in China.

At the same time, Chinese authorities will be given more control over the country's underground churches.

These underground churches, which offer an alternative to state-sanctioned churches approved by Beijing, recognise only the Vatican's authority.

The Beijing-approved state churches refuse to accept the Pope's authority.

Chinese Catholics are concerned about the future of seven "illicit" government-backed Chinese bishops. At present, these bishops are not recognised by the Holy See and have been excommunicated.

Two bishops in Shantou and Mindong dioceses, who have been recognised by the Holy See have been asked to make way for illicit ones.

"We know that China and Vatican have been actively engaged in a dialogue, but we never expected that legitimate bishops would be asked to step down," says a Chinese Catholic who refuses to be named.

She says in exchange for the agreement signed by the Holy See with the government, "the underground community needs to be sanctified."

"Our faith tells us that God so loved the world that everything was best arranged by Him and He can bring good from evil, but now what is our future?

"Where is the church? And who is the shepherd? It is a burden for Catholics to have the game of politics imposed on them."

The woman says the Holy See's decision will make many Catholics leave the church as they "have no choice but to obey".

An underground priest has also expressed concern. He says it's a mistake for the Holy See to assume it can achieve unity by supporting the Communist Party-controlled Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association.

It's "... like asking the underground church to take communion with the devil". He says the underground church feels abandoned and betrayed.

Another underground Catholic says he thinks the Holy See is in a united front with China's communist government.

Father John of Yunnan says the Holy See is in a hurry to establish relations with Chinese authorities.

With the Holy See being "blessed and generous to bishops of the association but not to bishops of underground churches," he says it's obvious underground bishops will transfer to open churches.

• The Tablet
• UCA News
• Image: Asia News

They ransacked the church and attempted to arrest the priest and the lay preacher. Read more

Cardinal Zen told an Italian newspaper that this is the message he would give the Pope.

Improving relations between Beijing and the Vatican has resulted in speculation that the Pope could reach out to China, possibly alongside a visit to Korea next month.

But Cardinal Zen claimed the Chinese Communist Party would only show the Pope illegitimate bishops, including three who are excommunicated.

Beijing would prevent the Pope meeting Chinese Catholics loyal to Rome, the cardinal continued.

China has an estimated 12 million Catholics, divided between members of the state-sanctioned Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association and the "'technically" illegal Catholics who recognise Pope Francis's pontificate.

In an interview in March, Pope Francis said: "We are close to China".

"I sent a letter to President Xi Jinping when he was elected, three days after me. And he replied," the Pope reportedly said.

The Vatican and China have not had formal talks since Beijing severed ties 63 years ago over allegations of espionage.

Informal talks were last known to be held in 2010.

Beijing's unsanctioned ordination of bishops in 2010 and the house arrest of Thaddeus Ma Daqin, the outspoken auxiliary bishop of Shanghai, two years later have soured ties.

In his interview, Cardinal Zen said he did not see signs of dialogue happening between the Catholic Church and China.

"Even if under these conditions Beijing was to extend a hand, it would be a trick under these circumstances," he said.

"Our poor bishops are slaves, the Communist Party denies them respect, tries to take away their dignity."

A close Western observer of the Vatican's ties with China said he was convinced Pope Francis was eager to visit China.

For many years, the Vatican has wanted to move its nunciature from Taiwan to the mainland, the Jesuit scholar said, speaking to the South China Morning Post on condition of anonymity.

He cautioned, however, that Beijing might be hesitant to receive the current Pope.

"Given that Francis has also been outspoken on issues of corruption and the treatment of the poor, one could see China being very wary of allowing him a microphone," he said.

Sources

• South China Morning Post
• China Topix
• Image: Conggiao

A report by UCA News said the Vatican-approved bishop, who escaped house arrest and lived in hiding for the last 16 years of his life, was buried in secret by priests and laypeople.

An underground priest, who spoke to UCA News on condition of anonymity, said Bishop Liu was "a key figure" in the establishment of the bishops' conference in 1989, which "contributed to the continual existence in China of a Church that is loyal to the Holy See."

Born in 1919, Bishop Liu entered the seminary in 1935 and was ordained a priest in 1945. In 1955, he was arrested and imprisoned for two years for opposing the independent Church movement.

In 1958, he was arrested again and received a life sentence for opposing the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, a government-sanctioned body that promotes an independent Church. When he was eventually released in 1981, he began to evangelize across China.

Liu was consecrated coadjutor bishop of Yixian in 1982 and became the ordinary four years later. After suffering a stroke in 1994, he resigned from all his posts, but was placed under house arrest in Weigezhuang, his hometown.

Source

UCA News

Image: UCA News

Independent Catholic Asian news agency, ucanews.com, believes that dozens of lay people as well as Tianshui diocesan administrator, Fr John Baptist Wang Ruohan; retired Bishop Casmir Wang Milu; Father John Wang Ruowang and several other priests are being held at separately at several locations.

The detentions appear aimed at persuading the men to support the official candidate to fill the bishop's seat in Tianshui.

However, an official with the local government's Religious Affairs Bureau said the men were merely taking part in a routine training session.

"There was definitely no detention at all," said the man, who refused to give his name because he wasn't authorized to speak to the media.

The Tianshui bishop's seat has been vacant since 2004.

The previous bishop's nephew, Zhao Jianzhang, has been acting bishop and has been nominated by the official church to formally take over the position, but he faces competition for the loyalty of parishioners from the administrator of the underground community.

China has no formal relations with the Vatican and insists on the right to appoint its own bishops in defiance of Rome.

Underground and government-recognised communities exist in tandem in China.

The underground diocese and the official Church had generally good relations until recently, mirroring a rise in tensions between the Vatican and Beijing.

Sources

• ucanews.com
• Associated Press
• Image: Belief.net