Pope Leo XIV names new bishop for Archdiocese of Fuzhou, China
June 11 (UPI) -- Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday appointed Bishop Joseph Lin Yuntuan auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Fuzhou, China.
"We are pleased to learn that today, on the occasion of the taking possession of the Office of Auxiliary Bishop of Fuzhou by His Excellency Monsignor Joseph Lin Yuntuan, his Episcopal Ministry is also recognized for the purposes of civil law," the Holy See said in a statement. "This event constitutes a further fruit of the dialogue between the Holy See and the Chinese Authorities and is an important step in the journey of communion of the Diocese."
The Vatican said that both "the recognition of the civil effects" and taking possession the office occurred Wednesday "in the framework of the dialogue regarding the application of the Provisional Agreement between the Holy See and the People's Republic of China."
Yuntuan's appointment was made possible by the Sino-Vatican deal signed in September 2024 and renewed for a third time in October 2024.
A May 12 Human Rights Watch statement urged the Vatican to review the agreement that allows China to appoint bishops for government-approved houses of worship, subject to Pope Leo's approval.
"Pope Leo XIV has an opportunity to make a fresh start with China to protect the religious freedom of China's Catholics," HRW associate China director Maya Wang said in a statement. "The new pope should press for negotiations that could help improve the right to religious practice for everyone in China."
Details of the Sino-Vatican deal have never been made public.
According to HRW, the agreement with the Vatican was signed during a period of intensified religious repression in China.
HRW has urged Leo to press the Chinese government to immediately free several Catholic clergy who have been "imprisoned, forcibly disappeared, or subjected to house arrest and other harassment."
Msgr. Joseph Lun Yuntuan is a China-born cleric ordained as a priest April 9, 1984.
He was an episcopal delegate for several years and from 2013-2016 he "performed the ministry of Apostolic Administrator ad nutum Sanctae Sedis."
Yuntuan received episcopal ordination Dec. 28, 2017.
The metropolitan Archdiocese of Fuzhou was established in 1946.
Leo has appointed 15 new bishops in Asia, the United States, Africa, Europe and South America.
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