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The Dispatch

Newly elected Chinese Church leaders allied with government vow to proceed with sinicization

August 24, 2022 Catholic News Agency 15
Flag of the People’s Republic of China / Yan Ke / Unsplash (CC0)

CNA Newsroom, Aug 24, 2022 / 02:21 am (CNA).

Chinese bishops allied with the government have promised to proceed with the “sinicization” of Catholicism in China.

During a national conference in Wuhan, two organizations elected leaders who vowed to bring the Church in China in line with the ideology of the Chinese Communist Party.

The 10th National Congress of Catholicism in China was attended by 345 Catholic bishops, priests, and religious of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, reported UCA News.

At the end of the three-day gathering, new leaders of the association and of the Bishops’ Conference of the Catholic Church in China (BCCCC) were elected. Both of these organizations are sponsored by the Chinese state. 

The Catholic Church in the People’s Republic of China has been split between the government-sanctioned Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association and the underground Church, which is persecuted and whose episcopal appointments are frequently not acknowledged by Chinese authorities.

The Vatican does not officially recognize the CCPA. The state-sponsored congress is held every five years.

Archbishop Joseph Li Shan of Beijing was appointed chairman of the CCPA, while Bishop Joseph Shen Bin of Haimen was elected as the new BCCCC chairman.

The new leaders agreed to continue efforts towards the sinicization of the Church as laid out previously by President Xi Jinping. 

In 2018, the Vatican reached an agreement with the Chinese government on the appointment of bishops in the country; the terms of the deal, which was renewed in October 2020 for two more years, have never been fully revealed. The Sino-Vatican agreement is due to expire on Oct. 22.

Human rights advocates have voiced concerns after Pope Francis said the agreement was “moving well” and should be renewed.

Vatican officials have repeatedly said that the accord between China and the Holy See is focused solely on the appointment of bishops. According to reports, the agreement allows China’s state-sanctioned church (CCPA) to select episcopal candidates, who would then be approved or vetoed by the Holy See. 

In last year’s National Conference on Religious Affairs, the president said that religious practice in China would be brought into line with Marxist views and ideologies. 

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No Picture
News Briefs

Kidnapped Nigerian religious sisters released

August 23, 2022 Catholic News Agency 1
Sr. Johannes Nwodo (R), Sr. Christabel Echemazu (L), Sr. Liberata Mbamalu (C), and Sr. Benita Agu, freed from captivity in Nigeria’s Imo State, Aug. 23, 2022. / Courtesy photo

Denver Newsroom, Aug 23, 2022 / 15:19 pm (CNA).

Four religious sisters who were kidnapped while on their way to Mass Aug. 21 have been released, according to their order. 

Sisters Johannes Nwodo, Christabel Echemazu, Liberata Mbamalu, and Benita Agu were kidnapped Aug. 21 in Nigeria’s Imo state, located in the south of the country. 

After two days of seeking “intense prayer” for their “quick and safe release,” the Sisters of Jesus the Saviour announced the abductees’ “unconditional and safe release” in a statement Aug. 23. 

“Today is a memorable day for us, therefore, we wish to share this joy with all men and women of Goodwill who in one way or the other have contributed to the quick and safe release of our dear sisters,” the statement reads. 

The Sisters of Jesus the Saviour is a Nigerian order that cares for the poor, elderly, and sick. The order did not provide any details about who may have perpetrated the kidnapping. 

Kidnappings of Christians in Nigeria have multiplied in recent years, a situation that has prompted Church leaders to express serious concern about the security of their members and to call on the government to prioritize the security of its citizens. 

Priests, in particular, are often kidnapped and held for ransom. On July 11, the Nigerian Diocesan Catholic Priests Association issued a statement about the attacks, saying, “it is really sad that in the course of their normal pastoral activities, priests have become an endangered species.”

Most recently, in July, Father John Mark Cheitnum and Father Denatus Cleopas were abducted at the rectory of Christ the King Catholic Church in the town of Lere in Nigeria’s northern Kaduna State. Cleopas was released, but Cheitnum was killed in brutal fashion.  |

Security expert David Otto, director of the Geneva Centre for Africa Security and Strategic Studies, based in Geneva, Switzerland, told CNA in July that the consensus of security experts in his group is that the Catholic Church is being targeted because it has been paying the steep ransoms the terrorists have demanded, which can be as high as $200,000, or more.

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