Analysis: A Chinese bishop takes the floor for the first time at the Synod on Synodality

Vatican City, Oct 11, 2024 / 06:00 am

There has been one noteworthy development so far in the Synod on Synodality’s second week — and it’s not the resurfacing of “women’s ordination” and other hot-button issues that were presumably not on the agenda for this month’s assembly.

Instead, it was an intervention on Oct. 7 by a bishop from the People’s Republic of China: Bishop Joseph Yang Yongqiang of the Diocese of Hangzhou. This is significant because it marks the first time a Chinese bishop has taken the floor to speak to his fellow synod delegates.

Yang, who participated in last year’s assembly as well but departed before the session’s conclusion, is one of two mainland China bishop delegates appointed to the synod by Pope Francis, having been the protagonist, last June, of the first “transfer” of dioceses under the Sino-Vatican agreement.

Yang read a short speech in Chinese with a simultaneous translation. Synod sources told EWTN News that his remarks, which were not broadcast, focused on three main points: the history of Chinese Catholicism, China’s agreement with the Vatican on the appointment of bishops, and cultural exchange.

According to a source from the Vatican Secretariat of State, a Vatican delegation was in Beijing in the last week of September for talks on renewing the controversial agreement, possibly for three or four years this time.

Yang, who is expected to remain for the full assembly this year, spoke positively about the provisional agreement, saying it will deepen relations between the Holy See and his country. He also extended an invitation to synod participants to visit China, and he stressed the importance of “Sinicization,” the terms used to refer to efforts to ensure the Church in China has a distinctively Chinese character aligned with the goals of China’s communist government.

Meanwhile, Bishop Norbert Pu of Chiayi, Taiwan, told EWTN News that he is in dialogue with the Chinese bishops at the synod.

All this underscores how the Synod on Synodality can be a place to build bridges across different places and cultures. Yet that dimension of the synod may be overshadowed by attempts to reignite attention on hot-button issues that were thought to have been set aside for the various study groups to address.

The fact that these issues are returning in various forms testifies to the pressure both sides are bringing to bear to change or affirm the Church’s traditional doctrine.

The issue of the ministerial ordination of women surfaced in one of the interventions this week, according to synod sources, as well as during a press briefing on Oct. 8 where Sister Mary Theresa Barron of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Apostles said that “some women do sense a call to priesthood or diaconate.”

At the same briefing, Cardinal-elect Jaime Spengler, archbishop of Porto Alegre, Brazil, broached the topic of dispensing with the discipline of priestly celibacy in regions where there is a shortage of priests.

Meanwhile, the need for greater pastoral care for LGBTQ+ persons was the focus of a side event the same day sponsored by the Outreach association of Father James Martin, SJ, and the Jesuit-run America Media. Cardinal Stephen Chow of Hong Kong was among those in attendance.

Finally, the role of bishops in a synodal Church was a featured subject in an open theological forum held on Oct. 9. Participants included Cardinal-elect Roberto Repole, archbishop of Turin, Italy; Sister Gloria Liliana Franco Echeverri, ODN; Professor Carlos Maria Galli; Professor Gilles Routhier; and Professor Matteo Visioli.

It was a diverse panel. Galli, who teaches at the Catholic University of Argentina, immediately distinguished himself as one of the most profound interpreters of Pope Francis’ thought. He emphasized the figure of the bishops in terms of “brothers and friends.” Sister Franco Echeverri urged the bishops to “not waste time on bureaucratic issues” and not to “cover up or bury anything” in the event of abuse. Routhier stated that the bishop is “a brother among brothers,” while Visioli spoke of the concept of “power,” divided into the dimensions of “order” and “jurisdiction.” The first refers to sacramental acts and the second to government functions.

Will any of these issues find their way into the synod’s final document? That remains to be seen. But it’s clear the debate rages on.