New bishop ordained for diocese in China that had yearslong episcopal vacancy

Reverend Paul Liu Honggang received episcopal ordination Aug. 31 after Pope Leo XIV appointed him bishop of Datong, Shanxi, China, after approving his candidacy within the framework of the Provisional Agreement between the Holy See and China, the Holy See Press Office announced this week. 

Bishop Honggang, 56, has served as diocesan administrator since 2005, nearly a decade after he was ordained a priest for the diocese, according to the press office. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in theology from the National Seminary in Beijing and had served as a parish priest at several local churches before becoming diocesan administrator. 

He was ordained by Bishop Joseph Shen Bin of Shanghai at the cathedral dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Pingcheng District during Mass with more than 200 people present, according to Agenzia Fides.

According to Asia News, during the ceremony, the secretary general of the Council of Chinese Catholic Bishops read the Council’s decree of approval for Bishop Honggang’s candidacy but did not cite the bishop’s appointment by Pope Leo. Earlier this summer, another bishop was ordained in China under the provisional agreement, which was first enacted between the Vatican and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 2018. It was last renewed for another four years in 2024 and allows the CCP to propose candidates for episcopal ordination but leaves the final decision up to the pope, as Zeale News previously reported. A number of religious freedom advocates, including Hong Kong bishop emeritus Cardinal Joseph Zen, have harshly criticized the agreement. 

Agenzia Fides reports that with the latest ordination, there are now 17 Chinese Catholic bishops ordained in full communion with the Pope within the framework of the provisional agreement.There are approximately 10,000 baptized Catholics, 15 priests, 16 parishes, and a women’s religious congregation in the diocese, which has had “long periods without a bishop,” according to Agenzia Fides. 

Asia News reports that the diocese’s previous bishop, Bishop Thaddeus Guo Yingong, died in 2005. Bishop Yingong “had rebuilt the local Catholic community after spending the dark years of the Cultural Revolution in forced labor,” the outlet noted. 

Datong, a diocese in a mountainous region, has had a Christian presence since the late 17th century when the Jesuit missions came. Foreign missionaries were expelled from the diocese by Mao communists, and the then-Father Yingong stayed to care for the Catholic community, until the churches were closed and he was sentenced to forced labor, according to Asia News. He was able to return to publish ministry in the 1980s and became the first Chinese bishop of Datong in 1990. 

“For the past 20 years, like many other dioceses in China, Shanxi has endured ever-tightening restrictions imposed by the Communist Party,” the outlet added. “In February 2023, a historic building belonging to the local Catholic community, located in an area of ​​high urban value, was demolished.”

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