Whatever Pope Francis comes to be remembered for, it will always include two landmark events in the Catholic Church's fraught relationship with China's communist rulers, who broke off diplomatic relations with the Vatican in 1951.


The first was a deal sealed with Beijing last September, after a decade of negotiations, for the appointment of bishops who would be recognised by both the Vatican and Beijing. The second is the pope's approval for the consecration of the first Chinese bishop to be installed under the agreement.

It has taken nearly a year since the deal was struck for the Vatican to confirmMonsignor Antonio Yao Shun as bishop of Jining in Inner Mongolia.


Despite the wait, that surely is reason for celebrations among the 12 million Chinese Catholics divided between the state-supervised Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association and an underground church that swears loyalty to the Vatican, and a positive sign for greater religious freedom.

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Pope Francis waves to worshipers as he speaks from the window of the apostolic palace overlooking St. Peter's square during the weekly Angelus prayer this month. Photo: AFP
However, as a Vatican spokesman said at the time of the accord, it is "not the end of a process, but the beginning".

Underground priests and parishioners continue to be fearful of detention and harassment with the Communist Party having tightened oversight of religion, which it sees as having the potential to weaken political control.

Only three months ago, with the Vatican still in negotiations with Beijing over implementation of the deal, the pope paid tribute to Chinese Catholics for holding on to their faith despite "hardships and trials".

He has acknowledged that his deal with China over the nomination of bishops will cause suffering among the underground faithful - "there is always suffering in agreement" - but insisted that he, not Beijing, would have the final say over naming new bishops, even if Beijing has a say in choosing them.

It remains to be seen whether Beijing relaxes its political control over the practice of religion. Meanwhile the deal shapes as a win-win outcome, raising Beijing's hopes of wresting diplomatic recognition of Taiwan by the Vatican and perhaps creating a domino effect among Catholic nations in Latin America, and the Vatican doubling and uniting its followers in the world's most populous nation.

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So...... who is the boss?