Vatican City: Two bishops from China will for the first time attend a major Vatican meeting starting early October.
Their presence at the synod will be the first tangible sign of a breakthrough deal between the Vatican and Beijing over bishop nominations.
The Vatican confirmed on October 1 that Bishops Guo Jincai of Chengde and Yang Xiaoting will participate in the synod, at the invitation of Pope Francis.
“There will be two bishops from continental China. They were invited by the Pope,” Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, secretary general of the Synod of Bishops, told a news conference. “I think they are already on their way to Rome.”
Synod is a regular gathering of bishops at the Vatican to discuss pressing issues facing the Catholic Church. The three-week meeting in October dedicated to young people opens on October 3.
Cardinal Baldisseri said the bishop’s presence will indicate the improved relations between the Vatican and Beijing after the signing of the agreement on Sept. 22. Details haven’t been released, but Pope Francis says it involves a process of dialogue, including to nominate candidates, but that he has the final say.
The month-long synod will discuss the role of young people in the 1.2 billion-member Church.
“In the past the Holy See invited bishops from continental China but they were never able to attend,” Baldisseri said.
The deal, which was in the making for more than 10 years, gives the Vatican a long-desired say in the choice of bishops in China, though critics labeled the deal a sellout to the Communist government.
China’s approximately 12 million Catholics have been split between an underground church swearing loyalty to the Vatican and the state-supervised Catholic Patriotic Association.
The Vatican has said the absence of a deal could have led to a schism between Chinese Catholics that would have been difficult to heal.
Concerns remain, however, over the fate of about 12 priests and bishops believed to be in detention in China.