CV NEWS FEED // The Vatican’s diplomatic authorities have announced in a recent press release that they are “pleased” following a decision by the Chinese government to officially recognise Bishop Melchior Shi Hongzhen for civil purposes as Bishop of Tianjin.
“This measure is a positive outcome of the dialogue established over the years between the Holy See and the Chinese Government,” the Holy See Press Office said in its August 27 communiqué.
According to a Vatican News report, Bishop Shi Hongzen, 95, was ordained a priest on July 4, 1954, and consecrated as coadjutor of Tianjin, a metropolis in Northern China, on June 15, 1982.
He became Bishop of Tianjin in June 2019.
The Tianjin Diocese has “approximately 56,000 faithful, distributed across 21 parishes, served by 62 priests,” the statement noted.
The recognition comes after five years of refusal by the Chinese government, which had hitherto only recognised him as a priest, and even placed him on house arrest for refusing to join its Catholic Patriotic Association, as Angelus News reported.
The Diocese had been without a state-recognized bishop since 2005.
As CatholicVote previously reported, the People’s Republic of China had signed a Provisional Agreement in 2018, agreeing to recognise the Vatican’s sole authority to appoint bishops.
The country renewed the agreement later in 2020 and 2022, Angeles News noted, “although there have been times when China named or transferred bishops in apparent violation of the accord.”
The Vatican made a series of bishop appointments early this year, as CatholicVote reported, signaling a positive shift in diplomatic relations between the Holy See and the authoritarian government.
