How Is the Agreement With China Working for the Holy See?| National Catholic Register

 On July 22, the online magazine AsiaNews reported the release of Father Ma Xianshi, a priest of the Diocese of Wenzhou, who had been detained for 18 months for “illegal commercial activity.” Father Ma has consistently denied these charges. 

Outraged by the accusations during his detention, Father Ma may send a report to the Vatican on the situation of the Catholic Church in China. It remains to be seen whether this report will affect Leo XIV’s approach to the China issue.

Since Leo was elected, several bishop appointments have been made under the Sino-Vatican agreement, the details of which have remained under wraps since its 2018 signing. The latest was that of Bishop Paul Liu Honggang, appointed bishop of Datong on Aug. 10 and ordained on Aug. 31. 

Meanwhile, although it has not been officially announced, several sources have said that a Holy See delegation traveled to China at the end of April 2026 as part of regular consultations on the Sino-Vatican agreement (often referred to as the Holy See-China agreement). It was the first time that the delegation was led by Msgr. Mihăiţă Blaj, Vatican undersecretary for relations with states.

It seems Leo XIV does not intend to change the Sino-Vatican agreement on the appointment of bishops. At least not for now. However, the Pope is watching the situation of the underground Church closely, it being nearly a decade since the agreement.

On Aug. 23, Catholic World Report published a report that stressed that, according to local sources, at least 10 bishops were consecrated in the “underground Church” in the Fujian region. Is the situation now prompting another pragmatic schism in the Chinese clergy? And how is the agreement working so far? 

Background on the Agreement

The Sino-Vatican agreement regarding the appointment and recognition of bishops came about in 2018, when then-Msgr. Antoine Camilleri, the Vatican’s undersecretary for relations with states at the time, flew to China to sign the agreement. Since its signing, some episcopal appointments have been made with Vatican approval, but there have also been setbacks. 

Since its signing, there have been discussions about modifying the agreement, but to date it has remained unchanged. Leo XIV himself, in the book Citizen of the World: Missionary of the 21st Century, said he would not change the agreement, at least for now.

Ongoing Tensions

 Where things currently stand regarding the bilateral agreement between the Holy See and Beijing reveals much about the ongoing difficulties the Vatican is experiencing in China. The information that follows comes from several conversations with people informed of the ongoing discussions, but it can’t be officially attributed to the Holy See. It is mostly a summary of the positions on the table. 

Regarding the details of the agreement — which are confidential — the Holy See reportedly needs to address some specific issues in the document itself. 

First, the Holy See wants to clarify that only the pope can appoint a bishop. Recently, Chinese authorities have anticipated the announcement of new bishops before the official Vatican  announcement. This happened, among other times, during the sede vacante — the period between Pope Francis’ death and Leo’s election, during which there was no reigning pontiff. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, later announced that an agreement had already been reached on the appointment of these bishops. However, no bishop can be appointed when a pope is not present, because the appointment always belongs to the pope alone.

The second point on which the agreement could be changed: The Holy See wants to clarify that, even for bishops already ordained, every appointment is the exclusive responsibility of the pope.

In the Church, bishops are not simply transferred from one diocese to another. When a diocese is in need of a bishop, the pope decides whether to appoint a priest to be ordained bishop, or to appoint a bishop from another see. The Holy See wants to avoid a repeat of what happened with the unapproved 2023 installation of Bishop Joseph Shen Bin to the Diocese of Shanghai; it was later resolved by Pope Francis, but it remains a controversial wound.

The Holy See’s third request concerns the appointment and selection of bishops. The Sino-Vatican agreement is supposed to work like this: The Holy See submits a short list of three eligible bishops to the authorities, and when a consensus is found on who to appoint, it is proposed to the pope. 

This approach is similar to  the Holy See’s agreement with Vietnam, which, while less well-known, has been in place since the early 2000s. This way, bishops have been approved by both the pope and the government but are still appointed directly by the pope.

Normally, the selection of bishops occurs as follows: The nuncio of a given country gathers information, chooses several possible candidates, and submits a report to the Dicastery for Bishops in Rome. This dicastery conducts further reviews and then presents the short list, as is or modified, to the pope. The short list recommends a first, second and third choice. The pope can accept the suggestion, decide to “draw” the second or third choice, or even appoint a bishop not included in any short list.

In China, the information-gathering process for new bishops is different. China does not have formal diplomatic relations with the Holy See; therefore, there is no nuncio in the country to coordinate information gathering.

Meanwhile, China obviously does not look at Vietnam as a model, and reportedly the Chinese authorities always stressed that they are different. Generally, per above, the Holy See picks a new bishop out of a set of three, and Vietnam is reportedly working this way. China prefers to have one favorite candidate and no more. 

Furthermore, since China is considered a “mission land” (that is, a land where the Catholic faith has not yet taken root), the responsibility for the bishops’ proposal does not fall to the Dicastery for Bishops, but to the Dicastery for Evangelization, originally called Propaganda Fide.

The Holy See collects information on potential new bishops primarily through the network of missionaries and bishops already present in the territory.

Shift in Choosing Bishops

With the Sino-Vatican agreement and Pope Francis’ pro-China policy, there has been an interesting shift in the selection of bishops. As one source laments, the opinions of the bishops of the official Church in China — that is, those approved by Beijing — were regarded by the Holy See more than those of missionaries, bishops or priests of the underground Church.

This occurred especially after the signing of the Sino-Vatican agreement. 

Leo XIV has taken a different approach. As head of the Augustinians, he had once visited China and had contact with missionary priests there. 

Leo has called for greater attention to the needs of the underground Church and, therefore, for the selection process for new bishops to be more in line with the “tradition” of the Holy See.  The Vatican’s strategy will consist of demanding a transparent process, with precise characteristics and regulations. This, obviously, could be considered a step backward by China.

What Comes Next? 

For the process of appointing bishops in China to be transparent, it must be made public; hence the Holy See’s proposal to release details of the Sino-Vatican agreement, which until now has remained confidential. For the Holy See, publicizing an agreement guarantees transparency and oversight of the procedures. In practice, this could demonstrate a concession of sovereignty, but in exchange, any violation of the agreement will be made public and can be reported.

This is a classic principle of Vatican diplomacy. In general, the agreement with China stems from mistrust: The Holy See does not believe China is a reliable partner, and China’s attitude since the agreement has confirmed this.

There have, of course, been signs of Chinese détente and goodwill. For example, the Holy See appreciated China’s civil recognition of Bishop Joseph Zhang Weizhu in December 2025, as was announced in a statement from the Holy See Press Office.

At the same time, however, the Holy See is concerned about other news from China.The ban on children attending Mass and obstacles to Catholic education are issues that are straining relations, not to mention the restricted religious freedom and even freedom of expression, which cannot be accepted by the Catholic side.