A great deal has been said about the upcoming synod this October and whether China should adapt the Catholic Church to today’s realities. The topic is not minor. The Asian giant and the Vatican have pursued an accord for years, with relations strained since 1951. In recent times there was a meeting with Pope Francis that left many observers hopeful but with a cautious tone. The matter remains highly relevant.
Among the headlines is the outspoken Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, the elderly former archbishop of Hong Kong, who has emerged as one of the most critical voices during the discussions. An unusual twist involves two Chinese bishops who attended the meeting and departed before it concluded on October 29. Zen, widely respected among Asian Catholics for his advocacy of religious freedom, has intensified interviews and public appearances to articulate his stance. He labeled the synod as a gathering of those who support the expulsion of homosexually inclined clergy and asserted that the event was not about faith truth but about the psychology of sentiment.
heard in Asia
The issue, however, is only the tip of the iceberg, as Bernardo Cervellera, director of Asia News for two decades and a longtime missionary to the continent, warns. He suggests that Zen’s comments reflect a broader unease across many places in Asia about a one‑sided, sociological rather than theological synod. Cervellera notes that criticisms from Zen are a clear sign of a wider discomfort that has persisted since the Second Vatican Council, which he says compelled the Church to engage with the world while also challenging it to avoid absolutist pretensions that dehumanize people.
Iacopo Scaramuzzi, a senior Vatican official and author on religious matters, offers another take. He views Zen as part of a traditionalist current that remains largely unchanged. He recalls a 2018 conference where Zen joined cardinals such as Raymond Burke and Walter Brandmüller, who at the time criticized Amoris Laetitia and the church’s openings regarding divorcees and remarried individuals. According to Scaramuzzi, these same figures are now among those who criticized the synod. He argues that a conservative wing in effect stretches from the USA to Hong Kong, fearing that the Second Vatican Council is the root of all challenges and that the Pope might destabilize existing church structures.
mysterious abandonment
A separate issue concerns two Chinese bishops, Antonio Yao Shun and Joseph And Yongqiang, who hold voting rights and left the assembly this week, twelve days after the synod began. Paolo Ruffini, the current head of the Vatican department responsible for communications, described the departure as unexpected and unannounced in advance. The bishops explained that their decision was driven by pastoral needs in their dioceses that required their presence at home.
China and the Vatican have endured a split for more than half a century. The Vatican has resisted Beijing’s effort to appoint its own bishops, a stance that led to a parallel, unofficial church answering to Rome. A historic 2018 accord seemed to ease tensions, but cracks appeared in 2020 when Beijing unexpectedly appointed a cardinal of its choosing. The departure of the two bishops from the synod is viewed by observers like Scaramuzzi as a symptom of ongoing tensions. He notes that while progress has occurred, the relationship between China and the Vatican continues to show advances and retreats, with the path toward full reconciled structures remaining uncertain.