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The communist government does not tolerate independent religions. Everyone must submit – including the Pope.
It’s all about this: The Chinese government has appointed Guiseppe Shen Bin, who is loyal to the regime, as the new bishop of Shanghai. The Vatican only found out about this after the fact and was not pleased: In its view, it is up to the pontifex alone to appoint bishops. But the Vatican subsequently recognized the bishop and announced in a brief statement that they hoped that next time the decision would not be made so unilaterally. This shows that the Catholic Church – and other religions too – are coming under increasing pressure in China.
The fact that the Vatican learned of the bishop’s appointment from the media speaks volumes.
Beijing cares about contract: Actually, there is an agreement between Beijing and the Vatican that gives the church leadership in Rome the right to veto the appointment of a bishop in China. This would therefore only be proposed by Beijing. “But the current case shows that it doesn’t work,” says freelance journalist Fabian Kretschmer, who lives in China. Apparently, a power struggle between Beijing and the Vatican is underway behind the scenes. “The fact that the church leadership found out about the appointment of the bishop from the media speaks volumes,” said Kretschmer.
Religion in China: According to the constitution, freedom of religion applies – but to a very limited extent. Religious sites were redesigned under President Xi Jinping: there are no longer large crosses, no more projecting minarets. Since 2015 there has been a large-scale campaign to “sinicize” the church – i.e. to make it Chinese. Religion should conform to socialism. “It’s about exercising control – and it affects all areas that are organized under civil law, such as environmental organizations,” says the journalist. Above all, the regime behaves “paranoid” towards religions – for fear that dissidents could organize themselves there.
Bishops must swear to resist any infiltration by foreign powers.
The current situation: According to official figures, at least 40 million Christians live in China. There are now two types of Christian churches in China. On the one hand there is the official Catholic Church, which is monitored by the state but tolerated. Their bishops have to swear allegiance to the political leadership. “They have to swear, for example, that they will resist any infiltration by foreign powers,” says Kretschmer. On the other hand, there are underground Christians in China. They gather in private homes and are labeled illegal by the authorities. They only feel obliged to the Vatican. Again and again some of them are arrested, including priests.
Religious Chinese: “Actually, the need for spirituality in China would be extremely great,” says Kretschmer. The communist party failed to establish a value system. “It was always about the economy and economic growth. This created a need for freedom and harmony in many people.” Christianity was able to satisfy the need of many Chinese for moral values. According to the journalist, the number of Chinese who call themselves Christians has increased accordingly.