New Catholic bishop ordained in China under Vatican-Beijing agreement
Bishop Joseph Chang Yanfeng is the fourth bishop ordained or officially recognized during Pope Leo’s papacy as concerns persist over underground Catholics and state restrictions on Christian practice.
A new Catholic bishop was ordained in China July 22, the latest episcopal ordination under the Provisional Agreement between the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China since Pope Leo XIV became Pontiff.
Bishop Joseph Chang Yanfeng was ordained bishop of Chifeng in China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region following his June 15 appointment by Pope Leo, according to Vatican News. He had served as the diocese’s administrator since October 2021.
Bishop Meng Qinglu of Hohhot, a vice chairman of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association that oversees China’s state-controlled Catholic Church, presided over the ceremony, according to UCA News. Bishop Chang is the fourth bishop to be ordained or officially recognized in China during the current papacy.
His ordination comes amid what UCA News described as longstanding tensions between the Vatican and Beijing over episcopal appointments, especially marked by the private 2018 Sino-Vatican Provisional Agreement. UCA News noted that the agreement “reportedly allows both parties to accept or reject candidates for bishops” and was most recently renewed for another four years in 2024.
“Critics term the agreement as the Chinese Communist Party’s tool to buy the Vatican’s silence on widespread religious, ethnic, political and rights violations,” UCA News reported. “Some condemned it as a betrayal of underground Catholics who remained loyal to the Vatican despite state persecution.”
The ordination also comes amid reports of intensified restrictions on Christians in China. As Zeale News previously reported, Benedict Rogers, a human rights advocate, recently warned that persecution of Catholics and Protestants under Chinese leader Xi Jinping has reached levels “not seen perhaps since the Cultural Revolution.”
Rogers cited reported arrests at unregistered churches as evidence of what he described as an effort to place loyalty to Xi above religious belief.
Zeale News also reported last year that Xi called for religions in China to “adapt to socialist society.” Separate regulations restricted clergy from offering religious instruction through personal social media accounts, online meetings, and livestreams.
