Retired Bishop Wang says Vatican-China agreement a good deal for church

Retired Auxiliary Bishop Ignatius C. Wang celebrated the 60th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood July 6 at St. Mary’s Cathedral. Bishop Wang spoke to Catholic San Francisco June 24 about the church in China and persecution of the faith. (Photo by Nicholas Wolfram Smith/Catholic San Francisco)
 
July 8, 2019
Nicholas Wolfram Smith
 
Even at 85 years old, retired Auxiliary Bishop Ignatius C. Wang tries to visit China at least once a year and keep up on developments in the Catholic Church there.
 
The Beijing-born former auxiliary bishop of San Francisco told Catholic San Francisco that the church’s situation there has been “normal.”
 
“I really have a great faith in China, and the persecution, well, we can understand that. Communism is atheism. It’s against any religion,” said Bishop Wang, who celebrates his 60th priestly ordination anniversary this year.
 
On Sept. 22, 2018, the Vatican and the People’s Republic of China signed a memorandum on the appointment of bishops in China. The agreement has not been published, but reporting at the time suggested that candidates to fill a bishopric would first be chosen through a democratic election by the local church and would then be examined by the government in Beijing. If he met government approval, a potential bishop’s name would be forwarded to the Holy See, which reserves the final word on appointing bishops.
 
The diplomatic agreement caused some blowback within the church, in particular with the former Bishop of Hong Kong, Cardinal Joseph Zen, who called it “an incredible betrayal.”
 
The agreement marks a step toward unifying the church in China since all future bishops will be recognized by the Vatican and Chinese government. After the agreement was signed, the Vatican also announced Pope Francis had readmitted seven state-approved bishops who were previously ordained without permission to full ecclesial communion.
 
Given the circumstances of the Catholic Church in China, which is divided between an underground church and a state-approved Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, Bishop Wang said “the deal with the Vatican is very good.”
 
“The agreement acknowledges you have the last word, but we recommend,” he said. “There are nearly 6,000 bishops in the world, how many would the pope know personally? It has to be local, as long as they do it conscientiously. I just hope it doesn’t happen that they send bad ones on purpose for Rome to approve.”
 
Even after the agreement signed nearly a year ago, Catholic bishops and priests belonging to the underground church in China continue to be imprisoned and campaigns to remove crosses and bulldoze churches persist. Bishop Wang said persecution of the church tends to originate on a municipal or provincial level, reflecting local corruption, ambition and rivalry rather than national directives from the Communist leadership.
 
Bishop Wang said persecution is also a constant burden for the church.
 
“Compared to the history of the church, this time is not worse than any other time,” he said. “The church is there, the foundation is a big rock but the storms always come and blow. That’s normal. If you expect nothing, that’s not normal.
 
“Look at here, we have persecution right here,” he continued. “Right now they want us to reveal confession’s secrecy. I’d rather go to jail. Isn’t this persecution?”
 
In official Catholic churches under the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, parishes remain close to the pope.
 
When Pope Francis elevated the memorial of St. Mary Magdalene to a feast in 2016, Bishop Wang first heard of it at a church he visited in Beijing.
 
“A big sign outside says ‘Patriotic Church,’ and they announced it. When I came back [to the U.S.], I asked a few priests and they hadn’t heard about it yet,” he said.
 
Bishop Wang said Catholics praying for the church in China should ask “first of all for freedom of religion, at least according to the conditions given. Although it’s an atheist country, persecution of the church is local, the top doesn’t really say anything. So we just pray those places understand [the church is] not doing any harm.”
 
The Vatican has told bishops and priests in China that they must follow their own consciences in deciding whether to register with the government, and it urged Catholics in the country not to judge them for the choices they make.
 
Releasing the “pastoral guidelines of the Holy See concerning the civil registration of clergy in China” June 28, the Vatican acknowledged that acceptance of the independence of the church in China comes despite “the commitment assumed by the Chinese authorities,” in an agreement with the Vatican in September, to respect Catholic doctrine.
 
Deciding whether to register with the government, which is the only way to be able to minister openly, is a choice that is “far from simple,” the guidelines said.
 
“All those involved – the Holy See, bishops, priests, religious men and women and the lay faithful – are called to discern the will of God with patience and humility on this part of the journey of the church in China, marked, as it is, by much hope but also by enduring difficulties.”
 
At a congressional hearing June 27 on the worldwide persecution of Christians, religious freedom advocates warned of the plight of Christians in Asia and particularly in China, where the government is acting forcibly to bring religion under Communist Party control.
 
“I have been in Congress since 1981, I have worked on human rights in China since 1981,” Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), co-chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, told the commission’s hearing.
 
Referring to China’s campaign to “sinicize” religion, Smith said it was proceeding with brutal efficiency. “Under ‘sinicization,’ all religions and believers must comport with and aggressively promote communist ideology – or else,” Smith said.
 
On July 6, Bishop Wang presided at a special Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral to celebrate the Feast of the Chinese Martyrs, pray for the church in China, and mark his 60th ordination anniversary.
 
Named an auxiliary bishop in 2002 by Pope John Paul II, Bishop Wang was the first Catholic bishop of Chinese ancestry and of Asian background to be appointed in the United States.
 
Catholic News Service and Catholic News Agency contributed.