The Global Times, the semi-official online organ of the Chinese Communist Party, attests with participatory tones that under Pope Francis and President Xi Jinping, "hopes rise for a thaw" in Sino-Vatican relations. And it names an American cardinal as a witness of the new course; one who is convinced that the similarities between the two leaders can become "a special gift for the world".
After "decades of frozen ties", many converging signs seem to witness "a slow but significant change in relations" between China and the Vatican. Differences remain, but "experts and religious leaders have seen progress in the overall tone of dialogue". An editorial article published with great prominence by the Global Times, the English language online publication considered the semi-official organ of the Chinese Communist Party, reported on the change of pace in relations between Beijing and the Vatican and deciphered its reasons and implications. A clearly inspired intervention which, in a moment full of expectations about possible developments in the China-Vatican dossier, has the value of an eloquent signal starting from the title: "Under Pope Francis and President Xi, hopes rise for a thaw in ties" printed on a background photo montage that features St. Peter's dome and the front door of the Forbidden City side by side.
The news and the topics presented in the article help decipher the current attitude of the Chinese political establishment toward the question of the relations with the Holy See and the Catholic Church. The turning point, beginning with the title, is connected with a new era marked by the almost simultaneous rise to power of Pope Francis to the Chair of Peter and of President Xi Jinping to the helm of the former Celestial Empire. The statements by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who in October 2015 confirmed the previously agreed upon visit of a Vatican delegation to Beijing to work on the normalization of relations, are identified as authoritative proof of the new phase in the rapport. The Global Times not only quotes the Vatican Secretary of State, but adds that in late January a Chinese delegation also visited the Vatican, a confirmation on the part of the Chinese of rumors that have been circulating concerning the latest Sino-Vatican meeting which took place in Rome before the Chinese New Year.
The "'Made in Beijing" English publication recognizes that decades old tensions concerning the existing diplomatic relations between the Vatican and the "rebel island" of Taiwan are less important than the problems created by the alleged Chinese government interference in the appointment of bishops "which the Catholic Church considers key to the Catholic faith and organization".
Back in the spring of 2010, also on the Global Times, the director of the Pushi Institute for Social Sciences, Liu Peng, had already outlined the points of a possible agreement on the process of bishop appointment which, at the time, was the central theme of talks between the Holy See and the Chinese government. Giving the impression of being well-informed, the Chinese professor had explained at that time that the agreement could begin with local selection mechanisms (through consultation among the representatives of individual parishes) to identify the names of candidates for the episcopate which would then need to receive approval from the government in Beijing before being presented for final selection by the Holy See. If the Holy See did not deem the candidate or candidates adequate for the role of bishop, the time-frame to make a selection would be extended in order to take other candidates into consideration through another round of consultation. In essence, a system that would forever eliminate the possibility of further illegitimate episcopal ordinations celebrated without pontifical mandate.
After 2010, the agreement suggested on the Global Times (perhaps to test the ground and record any reaction) did not materialize. Soon after, relations between Beijing and the Vatican cooled once again, with the most enigmatic of the many scenario reversals that characterize the dossier of Sino-Vatican relations. Parolin, who in previous years had led the negotiations with the Chinese in his role as the Vatican Foreign Vice-minister was, at that crucial juncture, sent to Venezuela as the nuncio in the autumn of 2009. Then, from November 2011 to June 2012, Chinese officials went back to piloting a number of illegitimate episcopal ordinations celebrated without the consent of the Bishop of Rome, and for the first time the Holy See publicly declared that the illegitimately ordained bishops had been automatically excommunicated.
After almost four years, the article published yesterday on the Global Times resumes conjecture and speculation on possible procedures for episcopal elections that can be implemented in an attempt to ease tensions in the dispute. It suggests a "Chinese model" of episcopal election, similar but different from the "Vietnamese" model, in which the Holy See, according to an explanation provided by the Global Times, chooses candidates for the individual dioceses from a list of names approved jointly with the government and waits for the consent of the same government prior to formalizing the appointment and recognizing the ordination. Among the considerations set forth by the Global Times, one is by an unnamed official of the Chinese political establishment who asks to determine a "set time" for the selection negotiations and appointment of the individual diocesan bishops because after a certain number of fruitless negotiation rounds, in his view, they "cannot submit endless candidate lists to the Vatican if the pontiff keeps saying no".
The Global Times may be advancing these hypotheses and conjectures on the appointment system of Chinese bishops with the intention of partially leaking information on the state of Sino-Vatican negotiations and to record any reactions from all establishments, not just Chinese ones. But aside from the reliability of the information (which has yet to be verified) and the considerations brought forth, the significance of the media operation can be attested to by the choice of publisher.
The Global Times is the organ most often used to make the guidelines of the Chinese Communist Party known abroad. In this case, aside from the stereotyped formulas which are included in an attenuated form and which are drawn from the conventional language of Chinese religious policy, the underlying message is clear and defined. This time, the Global Times wants the world to know that China and the Holy See have an auspicious and new opportunity to resolve their differences. An opportunity that has never before emerged with such clear features, thanks mainly to the contemporary presence of two leaders like Xi Jinping and Pope Francis.
The Chinese intention of letting a sign of an "acceleration" concerning the relations with the Holy See leak out has also been demonstrated by another detail. Right before the Chinese New Year, the Global Times published an initial comment on an interview with Pope Francis published on February 2nd on the Israeli-American owned, Hong Kong based online publication Asia Times which centered on China and on the expectations of the Chinese people. In that first reaction, it was repeated that improvement of bilateral relations would be favored by the Vatican's acceptance of the "independent principles of Chinese Catholics" and it was characterized by uneven tones, complacent expressions regarding the esteem and encouragement expressed in the Papal interview toward the Chinese people and their leadership alternating with ritual repetitions of the standard linguistic forms of Chinese religious policy. After only two weeks, the Papal interview has evidently been reinterpreted and "digested" by the Chinese political establishment over the New Year holidays. The new analysis that has appeared on the Global Times does not repeat the "obligation" to reaffirm the necessary "independence" of the Chinese Church, and the analyst Francesco Sisci, author of the "Chinese" interview with Pope Francis, is asked by the digital Chinese newspaper to outline the processes and implications, including the geo-political ones, which could force a softening of still unresolved issues between China and the Church of Rome. The Beijing based Calabrian sinologist and Senior Researcher for European studies at Renmin University in China explains that the Pope can help improve communication between China and the rest of the world. And the current "pragmatic and flexible" Chinese leadership is very focused on the importance of global soft powers, and has become aware of the "soft superpower represented by the Holy See in the time of Pope Francis. The Chinese," concludes Sisci, "would not and should not miss the occasion of meeting the Pope, leader of this soft superpower, especially since it can help China dispel the many fears there are in the world about its rise."
The Global Times also reports the original considerations by the Chinese scholar Liu Guopeng concerning Sino-Vatican relations: at this stage, notes the associate research fellow at the Institute of World Religion Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, "the two sides can also talk via a third country such as Italy or through individual and delegation exchanges, even though there is no Chinese permanent delegate to the Vatican." But, the starring role as witness to the new trends that seem to be setting the stage for a breakthrough in the relations between China and the Vatican has been assigned to the 85-year-old cardinal Theodore McCarrick, one of the few western cardinals who is truly passionate about the issues concerning Chinese Catholicism. The archbishop emeritus of Washington DC has visited China eight times, starting from the nineties. He took his last trip to the country of the Great Wall in early February. Not in his "official capacity," he claims, but only to "visit old friends." The senior cardinal, the first western cardinal to return to China after the latest phase of frozen relations began in 2010, told the Global Times with simple and effective words that the hierarchical communion of each bishop with the Successor of Peter is a fundamental condition for those receiving an episcopal ordination in the Catholic Church. He recalls the days of the excommunications of the Communists and the destruction of religions planned by Mao Zedong. But he points out how "that's gone now" and that no one in China could ever consider Catholics as potential subversives. The American cardinal outlines in a credible way the new phase of Sino-Vatican relations that could begin in the time of Pope Francis and Xi Jinping, and is convinced that the Chinese President wants to initiate "a great new moment in history" with the Vatican. "A lot of things that China worries about," notes the Cardinal, "[Pope Francis] worries about: about the care of poor, older people, children, our civilization and especially the ecology. I see a lot of things happening that would really open many doors because President Xi and his government are concerned about things that Pope Francis is concerned about." For this reason, concludes McCarrick, the similarities between the two leaders can be "a special gift for the world."
