Pope Francis: the China dream, at what price?

Details always make the difference. Thus, it is not enough to read the press release in which the Holy See Press Office informed us that Cardinal Matteo Zuppi had a telephone conversation with Li Hui, the Chinese government’s special representative for Euro-Asian Affairs. It is also necessary to read the press release from the Chinese side, which arrived on August 14, one day before the press release from the Holy See. The details and differences in the press releases say much more than the official words.

The differences and details indicate the specific will of Pope Francis.

Over the last week, an interview the Pope gave to the Asian Province of the Jesuits was finally published. Francis sat for the interview on May 24, the day of Mary, Help of Christians, and the pilgrimage to the Chinese sanctuary of Sheshan, as well as a day of prayer for the Catholic Church in China. In it, Francis spoke about his dream of visiting China.

In the meantime, preparations have likely begun for the next Sino-Vatican meeting in China to renew the agreement on the appointment of bishops. Signed in 2018, the agreement was renewed every two years and should be the same again – 2-year term and ad experimentum. However, this year also brought a novelty, namely a mid-term meeting in Rome between the Chinese side and the Vatican counterpart, again with the renewal of the agreement as its theme.

There needs to be official communications about these meetings.

Their existence is known from various sources – it is difficult for a Vatican delegation to go unnoticed in China, to tell the truth – and there are some rumors about them. The meetings, however, must remain confidential because any publicity could create difficulties in the relationship between the Holy See and Beijing. So, there is never any communication from the delegations – even if they generally are at the level of Deputy Foreign Minister and Undersecretary of the Dicastery for Evangelization – nor from the results of the discussions.

It is a complex dialogue. Pope Francis, however, wants to continue it at all costs, cherishing the dream of being the first Pope to travel to Beijing. It is not the first time that the Holy See has agreed with a government to appoint bishops. Sometimes, it is a necessary evil, as was the case in Hungary in 1956ù. Such arrangements do not mean the Holy See is blind to problems of religious freedom . The Holy See considers this type of agreement not ideal and a provisional starting point for carrying forward a difficult but important dialogue.

The Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, knows this.

As a young officer in the Vatican’s diplomatic service, Parolin worked on a similar agreement with Vietnam, not as publicized as the Chinese one but which bore fruit in an official bilateral dialogue that lasted more than ten years. Now, Hanoi and the Holy See are one step away from full diplomatic relations.

However, Pope Francis needs more than the prudent line of the Vatican Secretariat of State. The Pope has his parallel diplomacy, made up of special envoys and personal conversations. When the Pope sees an obstacle, he tries to overcome it.

So, when Pope Francis decided to appoint a special envoy for the situation in Ukraine and chose Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, he also accepted the idea that the cardinal would go not only to Kyiv and Moscow but also to Washington and Beijing. In this way, the Pope recognized China as a possible mediator, gave China the international credibility that China was particularly seeking, and opened a diplomatic channel of dialogue parallel to that of the Secretariat of State.

This brings us to the press release from the Holy See Press Office on August 15. The press release explains that the conversation between Cardinal Zuppi and Li occurred “within the scope of the mission entrusted to the cardinal by Pope Francis for peace in Ukraine and following the meeting in Beijing last September.” The press release emphasizes how, “[D]uring the telephone call, great concern was expressed for the situation and the need to foster dialogue between the Parties, with adequate international guarantees for a just and lasting peace.”

The Vatican press release limited itself to discussing the situation in Ukraine. Beijing’s tone was different. To hear the Chinese tell it, Zuppi was the one who requested the call. This is no small matter.

Beijing said, “Li Hui appreciated the Vatican’s constant efforts to mediate the Ukraine crisis and provide humanitarian assistance,” adding, “[Li] stressed that the current situation shows the significance of the six common understandings issued by China and Brazil.”

The Chinese statement also said, “Matteo Zuppi, on behalf of Pope Francis, thanked the Chinese government for its unswerving efforts in promoting peace and expressed his appreciation on the positive role of the six common understandings in the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis.” Finally, “the two sides also exchanged views on the current situation of the Ukraine crisis, the process of peace talks, and other [matters].”

Beijing is, therefore, keen to use the phone call as an international recognition by the Holy See. This is precisely at a time when religious freedom and freedom of expression in Beijing seem to be becoming crucial issues, possibly also touched upon in the election campaign for the US presidency.

Those “other matters” should ring a bell.

It is unlikely that diplomatic relations were mentioned, considering that these are the responsibility of the Secretariat of State. But perhaps there was talk of the agreement on bishops; there was talk of some common issues, even perhaps of religious freedom and of bishops of whom there has been no news for years, such as the auxiliary of Shanghai, Thaddeus Ma Daqin.

We are on the eve of a papal trip to Asia. The Pope dreams of going to China. The Pope is making his moves towards China to show sympathy. When he “healed” the unilateral nomination of Bishop Shen Bin as bishop of Shanghai, he nominated him in turn, thus avoiding having an excommunicated bishop at the head of an important Chinese diocese.

China senses this opening of credit on the part of the Pope and perhaps wants to force the hand towards full diplomatic relations. This would overshadow religious freedom problems – which the Holy See always highlights in confidential dialogues – but it could also force the Holy See to break off relations with Taiwan. Removing Taiwan from its only remaining Western ally could be the basis of China’s strategy with the Holy See.

There have been no readings of the Chinese statement, not even in some comments in the Vatican media, as could balance the points of view and provide other perspectives. There is a lack of alternative communication in China within the Holy See because the will of the Pope somewhat flattens everything. One could argue that it has always been this way, but with Pope Francis, the Vatican media have somehow focused their strategy a lot on the Pope and the interests of the Pope.

For now, it is only a telephone conversation. However, the fact that the Secretariat of State was not involved, that China considers Zuppi an interlocutor, and that Zuppi requested a phone call suggests that the Pope is trying to force the hand on dialogue with China.

In short, more than Russia, Pope Francis would like to go to China for the next Jubilee.

This justifies a leap forward in granting credit for dialogue. But the real question is: What cost is the Pope willing to make the Church pay for a trip to China? And what will be the personal cost of the Pope for pursuing the Chinese dream?