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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Show 2 Comments? (Hidden)Hide Comments

• Posted by: Randal Mandock - Sep. 19, 2026 12:07 PM ET USA

  Are Catholics under the age of 18 allowed to enter a church yet or receive religious instruction? Is the "underground" Church free to exist and flourish yet? I didn't think so. I refused to accept a job offer in China because the visa application required me to agree to not participate in subversive activities while in China. I could not sign on to that because the first thing I would do on arrival in China would be to seek out an "underground" parish for Mass.

• Posted by: feedback - Sep. 15, 2026 8:58 AM ET USA

  It would be ignorant, or outright deceptive, to make parallel historical connections between consecration of the first Chinese Bishops in 1926 by Pope Pius XI and the current CCP-Vatican secret agreement of 2018, when McCarrick became Pope Francis' envoy. In 1949 the CCP started large scale atheization of China culminating with the "Cultural Revolution" 1966–1976 and violent persecution of Christianity, which continues to this day.