What’s behind renewed China-Vatican friction?
When China's state-run Catholic Church ordained a new bishop for the Diocese of Shantou this summer without the Vatican's approval, it represented the latest step back from years of progress in a complex relationship. Yet the main causes for the shift may have little to do with Rome, experts say, and instead lie in momentous geopolitical events in other regions of the globe—and deep social changes within China itself.
For more than half a century, China's 12 million to 15 million Catholics have been divided between the officially approved Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association (CPCA) and an underground church of Catholics loyal to the pope. Each side fiercely rejects the other's legitimacy.
But in recent years, the Vatican and Beijing have been engaged in a slow and gradual process of compromise and mutual accommodation. In 2007, Pope Benedict XVI wrote an open letter to Chinese Catholics insisting that the church be free of state control but said the Vatican would like diplomatic ties with Beijing. He added that Rome is not seeking the overthrow of the communist regime.
