Pope Francis’ message on the 100th anniversary of the Council of the Chinese Catholic Church

(Rome, Italy – May 28, 2024) The Pontifical Urban University in Rome organized a conference on May 21st in Rome to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first and so far only Council of the Catholic Church in China. Pope Francis and a number of other Church leaders delivered messages on the Catholic faith in China.

Known as the “Concilium Sinense (the Catholic Church’s first Council in China),” it was led by Archbishop Celso Costantini, the first apostolic Delegate to China. The first council was held in Shanghai, China, in 1924, and drew up the Statutes of the Mission to China. The aim was to revitalize the Church’s mission in China, since Pope Benedict XV asserted that faith in Christ “does not belong exclusively to a certain nation.” Most of those present at the council’s meeting were foreign-born bishops, vicars general, religious and priests who had traveled to China as missionaries.

“The Lord in China has safeguarded the faith of the people of God along the way. And the faith of God’s people has been the compass that has shown the way throughout this time, before and after the Council of Shanghai, until today.” Pope Francis said in his address to attendees at the council.

“Those who follow Jesus love peace,” said the Pope, “and find themselves together with all those who work for peace, in a time in which we see inhuman forces at work that seem to want to accelerate the end of the world.”

The Pope’s video message was shown at the beginning of the day-long conference. The conference was co-hosted by the Pontifical Urban University in Rome, with Fides, a Vatican news agency, and the Pastoral Commission for China.

Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin attended the conference.

He told reporters he hoped the Vatican’s diplomatic arm could have some kind of “stable presence in China,” according to Vatican News.

Bishop Joseph Shen Bin of Shanghai also delivered a speech at the meeting.

According to the report from Vatican News, the bishop said, “We will continue to build the Church in China into a holy and Catholic Church that conforms to God’s will, accepts the excellent traditional cultural heritage of China, and is welcomed by Chinese society today.”

In 1949, the year of the founding of new China, the Church “always remained faithful to its Catholic faith, while striving to constantly adapt to the new political system.” At that time, “the religious freedom policy implemented by the Chinese government had no interest in changing the Catholic faith but hoped that clergy and faithful Catholics would defend the interests of the Chinese people and free themselves from the control of foreign powers,” Bishop Joseph Shen Bin expressed.

Today, as the Chinese people pursue “the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation comprehensively with a modernization in Chinese style,” the Catholic Church “must move in the same direction,” Bishop Joseph Shen Bin continued, “following a path of sinicization that aligns with today’s Chinese society and culture.” He called on Chinese priests and faithful “to love their country and their Church and closely link the Church’s development with the people’s well-being.”

The Associated Press stated that “the presence of Shanghai Bishop Joseph Shen Bin alongside the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, at the Pontifical Urbaniana University was in itself noteworthy. It marked the first time in memory that a mainland bishop has been allowed by Beijing to participate in a public Vatican event as the keynote speaker.”

Joseph Shen Bin was appointed bishop of Shanghai by the Chinese Catholic Church last year, but was accused of violating a bilateral agreement by the Holy See because he had not consulted with the Holy See on the matter in accordance with an agreement reached between Beijing and the Holy See.

However, the Holy See released a statement last July saying that Pope Francis had approved China’s appointment of Joseph Shen Bin as bishop, thus resolving the dispute between the two sides.

In February of this year, China even consecrated three bishops appointed by Pope Francis in one week.

According to Reuters, Cardinal Parolin stated that “the Vatican would like to establish a permanent office in China in what would be a major upgrade of diplomatic relations with Beijing.” Parolin’s attendance at the conference was significant as it served as “a rare platform for high-level talks between the two sides.”

The Vatican severed official relations with Beijing after the founding of the Chinese Communist Party in 1949, but has tried to improve them over the years.

There are currently 12 million Catholics in China, and the faithful are divided between the official so-called Patriotic Church and the underground church that remains loyal to the Pope.

China and the Vatican, which had been in serious disagreement over the appointment of bishops in Chinese dioceses, signed a secret agreement in 2018. Beijing has the right to appoint its own bishops in advance consultation with the Holy See, and these appointments must be approved by the Pope.

In his video address at the opening of the commemorative assembly, Pope Francis did not refer to the differences and disputes between the Holy See and China in recent years, but rather emphasized that the Council of Shanghai was “an authentically synodal experience”, and “the Council was indeed an important step in the path of the Catholic Church in China.” He noted that China was the first and only episcopal conference to realize the need “to increasingly have a Chinese face.”

“But the Council of Shanghai did not only serve to forget the erroneous approaches that had prevailed in previous times. It was not a question of “changing strategy,” but of following paths that best conformed to the nature of the Church and her mission,” Pope Francis expressed.

The Pope hoped that the participants in the Council of Shanghai will look to the future. “And remember that the Council of Shanghai can also suggest today new paths to the entire Church and open paths to be undertaken with boldness to proclaim and bear witness to the Gospel in the present.”