The Holy See has asked China to end 'intimidatory pressures' on Catholic clergy, who are not recognized by the Chinese State, but in full communion with Rome.
Beijing obliges priests to register themselves civilly in the country. The problem is that this document obliges the priest to accept “the principle of independence, autonomy and self-administration of the Church in China”.
The Holy See says autonomy should mean the normal autonomy of each diocese. This should not be interpreted as separation of the pope and the universal Church.
If the document does not state this, the Holy See proposes that bishops and priests write in a sentence themselves explaining this. If this is not possible, they must at least be able to verbally pronounce it in the presence of a witness.
Despite the agreement signed by the Vatican and China in September 2018 relations remain delicate. There is still a long way to go before the normalization of relations.
