China offers Vatican a say in Bishop appointments to mend ties

In a bid to repair strained relations with the Vatican, China has proposed a joint system for appointment of bishops, offering the papal authority a greater say in matters relating to administration of churches.
The Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (CCPA), an official body that governs the Catholics in China, said it hopes to receive the Vatican's reply by the start of next year to its proposals in this regard, official media reported here today.
"The Vatican seems to hope for more agreements beyond bishop ordination, such as cancelling the CCPA. But that doesn't appear likely," state-run Global Times report said.

The CCPA's authority has always been controversial between the two sides.
Till now, China insisted that it has the sole authority to appoint Bishops while the Vatican's stand is that bishops can only be appointed by the Pope.
After Buddhism, Christianity was believed to be the fastest growing religion in China.

Though China is governed by the atheist Communist Party, it does not discriminate against religion as a state policy it is very apprehensive about the role of Church considering the catalyst role played by the Vatican in transformation of socialist countries like Poland.
The relations between Vatican and China strained over differences on administering Churches and appointments of Bishops. But the ties were on the mend since new government headed by President Xi Jinping took over last year.

In August, China permitted Pope Francis for the first time in recent years to fly over its air space when he visited South Korea, saying it hopes to conduct constructive dialogue with the Vatican and improve relations strained over differences on administering Churches.
Pope Francis sent a message to Jinping, saying, "Upon entering Chinese air space, I extend best wishes to your Excellency and your fellow citizens and I invoke the divine blessing of peace and well-being upon the nation".
According to recent studies, China has over 52 million Christians, a majority of them Protestants many of them practices their religion in Home Churches due to lack of access to the main Cathedrals whose number was stated to be around 56,000.

China severed diplomatic relations with the Vatican in the 1950s and bishop ordination.