Hong Kong - The Vatican makes news with statements on doctrine, or events like Benedict XVI's appearance Thursday at World Youth Day celebrations in Cologne, his first trip abroad since becoming pope. But sometimes what goes on behind the scenes is just as important, if not more so. In recent months, the Vatican has been engaged in negotiations with Beijing that, if successful, could substantially improve religious freedom in China.
Since the death of John Paul II in April, high-level contacts between the Holy See and Chinese authorities have intensified. For the fourth time in the last 10 years, it appears that a new series of informal talks have begun in a discreet search for an agreement regarding the resumption of diplomatic relations.
Joseph Zen Zi-kiun, Hong Kong's bishop, recently confirmed that Benedict XVI has turned to the Community of Sant'Egidio, a Rome-based advisory body with a successful record as a mediator in civil conflicts, to lead the negotiations. The Chinese leadership, ever cryptic, is working through the State Council Development Research Center, an official think tank in charge of dealing with state policies.
As in all issues where the Vatican or Beijing are involved, the outcome of this approach is unpredictable. Diplomatic links between these countries broke in 1957, after Beijing expelled the Papal Nuncio and Pius XII excommunicated two bishops who had been appointed by Mao. In response to this action, Mao created the schismatic Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, which, under the supervision of the Religious Affairs Bureau, has essentially subordinated Catholic beliefs to Communist ideology.
In Hong Kong, the only speck of Chinese soil where genuine freedom of religious belief exists, Bishop Zen insists that the Vatican is eager to restore links with China and is willing to accept virtually any demand Beijing may present. Publicly, at least, China has not altered its conditions in the last 20 years. First, it wants Rome to embrace the "one-China policy" and cut links with Taiwan. Second, it wants a say in the appointment of Catholic bishops, just as Napoleon or Franco once did.
For some time, Catholic leaders in Taiwan have been warned that they are going to be politically abandoned. And, according to Zen, the new Vatican administration might be willing to accept the second condition - up to a point. What Rome wants is for China's two Catholic churches - the Vatican-linked "underground" church and the Beijing-sanctioned Patriotic Association - to unite for the good of its followers.
Accepting the Chinese government's demands would entail the complete modification of the diocesan structure inside China. The joint decision by the Vatican and Beijing to appoint Xing Wenzhi as auxiliary bishop of Shanghai and the presence of representatives from the Chinese Bishop's Council and the Patriotic Association at his consecration can be read as positive signs in this direction.
Negotiations of this sort are nothing new. In 1999, 2001 and 2003, officials from both sides tried to reach an agreement, but a lack of confidence soured the environment and blocked the talks. This time, it is difficult to ascertain whether Beijing is truly open to the idea of allowing Benedict XVI to have authority over what it calls "internal affairs." While the Chinese authorities have signaled a willingness to accept a new sort of relationship, they continue to commit serious human rights violations against Christian believers in China.
There are now 12 million Catholics in China. For those who belong to the underground church and do not recognize the spiritual supremacy of the Chinese Communist Party, life is often hell. Beijing has never hesitated to persecute and torture them.
According to Hong Kong's Holy Spirit Study Center, several bishops of the underground church have been captured in the past few years, and their whereabouts are unknown. The most fortunate, like Bishop Bartholomew Yu Cengdi of Hanzhong, are under house arrest. Others, like Bishop James Su Zhimin of Baoding, who was detained in 1997, seem to have vanished.
A successful conclusion to the current approach might produce some sort of concordat in which the Vatican will have to take China's opinion into consideration. This model is not alien to Vatican politics. But despite the importance of having good relations with Beijing as a means to protect its own congregation, recognizing any Chinese authority over the beliefs of Catholics could be extremely dangerous.
Some argue that to avoid another stalemate, the Holy See should push for the Vietnamese or Cuban model, which allows the church some autonomy under Communist regimes. That could be an option if the objective of the talks is just to improve living conditions of Chinese Catholics.
If the church wants to fulfill a global role and establish moral standards, however, any agreement must also include a guarantee of religious freedom from Beijing. The Vatican should pressure China to start taking serious steps in that direction before committing itself to a political situation in which it has nothing to win and much to lose.