Chinese priest sees Sino-Vatican agreement as ‘realistic response’
September 15, 2026
» Continue to this story on Fides
CWN Editor's Note: Fides, the news agency of the Pontifical Mission Societies, published an article by a Chinese priest for the upcoming 100th anniversary of the consecration of six Chinese bishops by Pope Pius XI.
Father Paul Han Qingping, who teaches Church history at the major seminary of Hebei, said that the 2018 provisional agreement on episcopal appointments “was not a perfect institutional design, but it at least acknowledged a fundamental fact: in contemporary China, the issue of bishop appointment cannot be separated from the State’s existing political structure, nor can it be separated from the Catholic theological principles of apostolic succession and communion with the successor of St. Peter.”
“In this sense, this agreement is not a simple diplomatic compromise between the two sides, but a historical exploration,” he continued. “It attempts to find a new balance between national sovereignty and the universality of the Church.”
The priest added that “for the ‘Sinicization of religion’ to have true vitality, it should not pursue a simple adaptation of Christianity to Chinese culture, nor should it be a complete assimilation of religion by culture. Rather, it should achieve a deeper mutual shaping between faith and Chinese civilization while maintaining the core of the Gospel message.”
“Today, what the Chinese church needs is not merely more use of Chinese liturgy, architectural styles, and folk music, but rather the establishment of a truly Chinese expression of Christian faith at the philosophical, theological, anthropological, spiritual, and psychological levels,” he said. “The Chinese Church’s most significant contribution in the future may therefore lie not primarily in institutional development (although this is necessary and important), but in providing the world with a new humanistic perspective that integrates Christian spirit, Chinese wisdom, and modern scientific awareness.”
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