By Benedict Rogers in The Spectator
As 133 cardinal electors gather in the Sistine Chapel tomorrow to begin the process of choosing a new Pope, there will be many considerations in their minds. They will be weighing up whether to build on or reject Francis’ legacy of progressive reform, whether to move in a more liberal or conservative direction, and whether to return the papacy to its Italian roots, opt for another European, or build on the precedent of the Latin American Francis and branch out to the wider world. Could this be the moment for an Asian or African pope?
Persecution of Catholics – and Christians more broadly – has intensified in China over the past decade
Amidst all these questions, there is one which may well be pivotal: what to do about China? Throughout his twelve-year pontificate, Francis led the Vatican firmly in pursuit of rapprochement with Beijing – one of the few areas in his papacy where he sided with the State instead of the persecuted. The Vatican’s China policy over the past decade or more has been one of compromise with, and kowtow to, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
The Sino-Vatican agreement, first signed in 2018, and renewed without any apparent review three times since then, gives Xi Jinping’s avowedly atheist regime a say in the appointment of Catholic bishops in China. As a consequence, several underground Catholic bishops previously loyal to Rome – who had endured years in prison for their fidelity – were required to step aside in favour of Beijing’s nominees.
Presumably Pope Francis’ intention was to seek improvements in religious freedom and protection for underground Catholics in China by uniting them with the State-approved Catholic Patriotic Association. However, the Sino-Vatican agreement has had the opposite result.
Persecution of Catholics – and Christians more broadly – has intensified in China over the past decade. Several Catholic bishops and priests appointed without Chinese state approval have been arrested, detained and disappeared since the deal was signed. As the Hudson Institute details, at least ten Catholic bishops in China have been harassed, threatened and arrested in recent years.
Beijing has violated the agreement with the Vatican multiple times by unilaterally appointing bishops without consultation with – let alone approval – from Rome. Even last week, just days after Francis’ death, they did it again, by appointing two new bishops without Rome’s consent.
Perhaps the most significant consequence of the Vatican’s China policy over the past decade has been that Beijing purchased the silence of the Pope.
Francis was, after all, a pope who spoke frequently and passionately about injustice, persecution, repression and conflict around the world, in Sudan, Yemen, Gaza or Myanmar. But the human rights crisis in China was regularly conspicuous by its absence from the Pope’s public prayers and reflections.
Only briefly did he once mention the Uyghurs, and never – to my knowledge – did he refer to the atrocities in Tibet, the crackdown in Hong Kong, or the persecution of Christians, Falun Gong practitioners, human rights defenders, lawyers, journalists or whistleblowers across China.
These are the Church’s failings on China over the past decade. The Church must atone for this.
If Francis let down China’s Christians, what should cardinals be looking for as they choose a new leader who might improve their lot?
They should choose a Pope who knows that the only place a Catholic – let alone a Pope – should genuflect is at the altar of God, not the gates of the CCP’s headquarters in Zhongnanhai. They should also choose a Pope who will reveal the details of the Sino-Vatican agreement, a deal which remains secret to this day. If it is such a good deal, why not let us all see the fine-print and review it?
They should look for a Pope who will conduct a thorough and comprehensive review of the China deal. In an ideal world, the next Pope will repeal the deal – as a new campaign launched last week calls for. But in a more pragmatic world, he should at the very least set clear conditions for its renewal when it is due in 2028.
Conditions for renewal must include the release of all jailed Catholic clergy in China, and information on the whereabouts and well-being of Bishop James Su Zhimin, who disappeared 27 years ago and is believed to be held in secret detention. The new Pope should ask Beijing loudly and clearly: Where is Bishop Su?
The Cardinals in the Conclave must, perhaps most crucially, look for a Pope who will end the silence of the Vatican on human rights in China. They must choose a pontiff who will stand up for the persecuted around the world, including those facing repression from Beijing, and not kowtow to an atheist state.
The new Pope should pray regularly and publicly for the predominantly Muslim Uyghurs facing genocide, just as Francis did for Myanmar’s Rohingyas. The new Pope must speak out against forced organ harvesting in China, and repression in Tibet.
With the Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday approaching in July, the new Pope would do well to engage the Dalai Lama as all recent predecessors – apart from Francis – have done. On the 30th anniversary of the disappearance of the then six-year-old Panchen Lama and his family into Chinese state custody later this month, the new Pope should speak out, demanding for information about their whereabouts and their release.
And, in regard to Hong Kong, there are three things the new Pope must do with urgency. First, within hours of his election, he must meet Hong Kong’s courageous Cardinal Joseph Zen, to seek his advice on how the Church should correct its relationship with China before the 93 year-old cleric returns home.
Second, he must pray publicly for the release of Hong Kong’s most prominent political prisoner – a devout Catholic – Jimmy Lai, and make his release a priority for further Vatican-China relations.
And he must meet Mr Lai’s son Sebastien, at the earliest opportunity. Doing so would send a powerful signal to the world.
If you have watched the movie Conclave, you will know that the selection process for the next Pope contains surprises and intrigue. I would not advocate nearly as radical change as the film suggests. But there must be a re-evaluation in the Church’s relationship with, and silence on, China.
There are many aspects of Francis’ legacy that should be celebrated and developed. His papacy was bookended by Jubilees of Mercy and Hope. Those are great virtues to define a papacy. But his China policy should be reviewed, repealed, buried and rewritten – and the next Pope must stop bending the knee to Beijing and stand up tall for the virtues of human dignity, human rights and human freedom.
This article was originally published in The Spectator.