A day in the life of the Catholic Church in China

By Phil Lawler ( bio - articles - email ) | Jul 28, 2026

Father Ma Xianshi was released from prison last week, the AsiaNews service reports. He was set free on the same day that Bishop Joseph Chang Yanfeng was ordained to head the Diocese of Chifeng.

So could that date, July 22, could be counted as a banner day, showing progress toward religious freedom for Chinese Catholics, and the positive impact of the Vatican’s secret deal with Beijing? It could, under two conditions.

First, you would have to accept at face value the Vatican’s announcement that the new Bishop of Chifeng was ordained with the approval of Pope Leo XIV, “within the framework of the Provisional Agreement between the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China.” The Pontiff gave his approval on June 15, the Vatican announced.

However, the Vatican announced the papal appointment only after the new bishop’s consecration. Ordinarily the formal announcement from Rome comes first, with the ordination ceremony scheduled a few weeks later. The curious lack of any advance announcement in this case prompts suspicions that Rome and Beijing had actually not reached a complete agreement on the ordination. The strange circumstances definitely suggest that the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association pressed forward with the ceremony before the Vatican was fully prepared—or, perhaps, fully informed. Could Beijing have presented the Pope with a fait accompli, planning to go ahead with the ordination with or without his approval?

We don’t know the details of this appointment. Nor do we know the details of any episcopal appointments in China since the “provisional agreement” came into effect in 2018, since the terms of that accord have never been disclosed. The common public understanding—never formally confirmed or denied by the Vatican—is that Chinese officials nominate candidates for papal approval. The Vatican has hailed the accord, saying that it will help create the happy situation in which all Chinese bishops are recognized by both the government and the Holy See. Toward that end the Vatican has twice agreed to extend the “provisional” agreement, most recently, in 2024, for a four-year period. Yet progress toward the restoration of the Catholic hierarchy has been painfully slow; dozens of Chinese dioceses are still without a recognized bishop.

Chinese officials have never expressed the same sort of enthusiasm for the accord. In practice Chinese officials have stretched the patience of the Vatican by interpreting the agreement to suit their own purposes. For example, after the death of Pope Francis, Beijing quickly moved forward with the appointment of two new bishops, apparently reasoning that there was no need for papal approval since there was no pope.

Under the circumstances, then, the ordination of a new bishops, announced after the fact by the Vatican, does not qualify as evidence of great progress in relations between Rome and Beijing.

Second, to count July 22 as a red-letter day, you would have to overlook the treatment of Father Ma Xianshi. He had been released in November 2024, and held for eighteen months, on suspicion of “illegal commercial activity,” for selling hymnals. This was obviously not “commercial” activity, insofar as he was not making a profit on the sales. But government officials in the Wenzhou province are relentless in their pursuit of Catholic priests who might be engaged in “unauthorized” religious activity.

Father Ma is a priest of the “official” Catholic Church, recognized by the government. But priests of the “underground” Church in the Wenzhou area, who refuse to accept the government’s authority, “may not live in churches or publicly celebrate the sacraments,” AsiaNews reports; “families who harbor underground priests for the celebration of the sacraments risk a fine of 200,000 yuan [almost $30,000].” Wenzhou’s Bishop Shao Zhumin, who has not been recognized by the government, was arrested last year and assessed a fine of $26,500 for celebrating Mass without approval.

On close inspection, then, July 22 was a day that did indeed reveal a great deal about the freedom of Catholicism in China. The news is not encouraging.