President Joe Biden shares something in common with Pope Francis and his Democratic ally, and conservative bête noire, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. None of them are probably what you would call civilisational Catholics. Their interpretation of Christianity appears more centred on social justice than protecting tradition and cohesion per se. Yet while both Biden and Pelosi have earned the animosity of traditionalists regarding their abortion stance, the latter has at least shown some principle in her stand towards China.
Yes, the President has come off the fence when it comes to defending democratic Taiwan, but it is Pelosi who visited the island and stuck two fingers up to Xi Jinping’s coercive threats. Whatever else, this shows at least a modicum of conviction, something Biden could learn from. As US President – and America’s second only Catholic head of state – Biden may have the ability to influence the Church when it comes to its deal with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Through the agreement, the Vatican and CCP agreed to cooperate in the selection of bishops of a united Catholic Church in China. The objective is a merger of the Underground Catholic Church into the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association (CPCA). In effect, the Vatican has the final say on clerical appointments, but can only select from CCP-approved candidates. The result has been ongoing persecution of Chinese Catholics, such as Bishop Augustine Cui Tai, who has been in jail on and off since 2007.
It seems unlikely the arrest and future trial of Cardinal Joseph Zen is merely coincidental to the looming renewal of the deal which effectively turns CPCA clergy into apostates. Worse still, the CCP has reneged on the deal, which effectively permits Beijing to accuse underground clergy of defying the Pope, with the threat of sacraments withheld for those who refuse to register.
In late 2020, according to Nina Shea, writing in National Review, “China thoroughly negated” the deal “in a dry public posting by the state bureaucracy”, with Order No. 15 making “no provision for any papal role in the process” of selecting bishops, without “even a papal right to approve or veto episcopal appointments in China”.
CPCA-aligned clergy must instead “support the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party”, with their registration tracked in a database which lists the names of legal clergy, and regulates conduct through a system of “rewards” and “punishments.” The CCP gets what it wants, but it is increasingly hard to see what the Church gets out of the deal.
Cardinal Zen has said he thinks Cardinal Pietro Parolin – key to the deal – is “manipulating” the Pope and may be acting out of “vainglory”, according to an interview with New Bloom Magazine. So key to the deal has Parolin been that he may have dashed his chances of becoming pope. That is a measure of how bad the deal is for the Church and Chinese Catholics.
Understandably perhaps, James Jay Carafano and Stefano Graziosi ask bluntly in National Review: “How can the global leader of the Catholic Church even contemplate doing business with such a murderous regime?” Moreover, according to Carafano and Graziosi: “Parolin’s soft-on-Beijing strategy is supported by powerful progressive-Catholic groups from the Society of Jesus to the Community of Sant’Egidio.”
Worse of all perhaps, the agreement “could push Catholic-majority Latin American countries, which currently have diplomatic relations with Taiwan, to formally recognize the People’s Republic of China.” (Vatican City State is the only European country to formally recognise Taiwan.) Nicaragua – which is effectively at war with the Church – has already ended relations with Taipei.
Crucially, write Carafano and Graziosi: “President Biden should lead the effort to help the Holy See recognize the serious threats emanating from its deal with Beijing, persuading the pope not to renew the agreement.” Indeed, such a move may go some way to redeeming the President in the eyes of many Catholics who see him as having betrayed the faith due to his abortion stance.
Vatican relations with the aforementioned Nicaragua – a country whose corruption and mismanagement forcibly displaces countless people to the United States every year – is another area where Biden could influence the Pope. The regime of President Daniel Ortega is effectively waging war against the Church, the main opposition focal point within the country. Things came to a head recently with the arrest of a senior bishop and leading opposition voice, Bishop Rolando Álvarez.
True, the Pope did speak up on the subject following the arrest, saying: “I am following with concern and sorrow the situation created in Nicaragua. I would like to express my conviction and my hope that, through an open and sincere dialogue, the basis for a respectful and peaceful co-existence might still be found.” Speaking in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis said he was closely following events with “worry and sorrow”.
But this acknowledgement seemed to fall short given the crisis in the country. In recent weeks, priests have been blocked from churches, and Catholic media has been forced off air. Yet the Church has been relatively silent. In an interview with the Catholic Herald, human rights activist Bianca Jagger urged the Church to condemn the Ortega regime, and said the President and his wife (who is also the Vice President) were waging a “brutal war” against the Church because they saw it as the last remaining political opposition.
Biden – like the Pope – may not have an Orbánite interpretation of Christianity, but surely his interpretation of the faith extends to standing up against regimes like those in China and Nicaragua. If faith means anything to him, Biden ought to use his clout to stop the Pope undermining the Church’s moral authority by accommodating the CCP and not being tougher on Ortega.
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