Sawt Falasteen - Chinese Catholics mourn Pope Francis, mull Church's future

The Vatican on Monday announced the death of the Argentine pontiff, who inspired devotion but riled traditionalists during his 12-year tenure.

In 1951, newly communist China severed ties with the Holy See, forcing Catholics to choose between membership in the state-run Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association or non-sanctioned churches loyal to the pope.

But under Francis, China and the Vatican signed a 2018 agreement allowing both Beijing and the Holy See a say in appointing bishops in an attempt to close the schism in China's 12-million-strong Catholic community.

On Tuesday grieving worshippers sang and prayed together in the small Hebei sanctuary where portraits of biblical figures adorned the walls and a hanging sculpture of Jesus on the cross faced a dozen rows of pews.

A transparent glass bookshelf displaying Chinese Communist Party texts and writings of President Xi Jinping stood adjacent to a depiction of the Last Supper.

The pope's death felt "just like the pain of losing a loved one", said one church member who asked to be identified as Chenxing.

"He taught us... to have love for one another," the 53-year-old said, adding that Francis had always hoped for peace, and prayed especially for places still at war.

Others who gathered said they were "shocked" to hear of his death because it "seemed so sudden" -- especially after he had made an appearance at the Vatican the previous day, Easter Sunday.

- Future of agreement -

The Vatican and China do not have formal diplomatic relations, as the city-state recognises Taiwan while Beijing claims the self-ruled island as its own territory.

Despite this, Pope Francis was credited by experts with improving relations between the Vatican and China in recent years.

During his tenure, Francis played a "key role" in reframing and resetting dialogue with Beijing, said Michel Chambon, an expert on Christianity in Asia and a research fellow at the National University of Singapore.

"For the first time, the Chinese government recognised that a foreign power, the pope, has the right to say something when it comes to the administration of Chinese Catholics," Chambon said.

For many Chinese believers the agreement was "a big, big deal", a lifelong attendee of an underground church in northern Inner Mongolia told AFP by phone.

The man, surnamed Wu, credits Francis with helping create "a state of unity" between China's above-ground and underground Catholics.

"He was always quietly praying for the Church in China," said the 36-year-old. "We felt that we had not been forgotten."

The deal -- whose text has never been made public -- has drawn mixed reactions from within the Catholic Church.

Some see it as allowing the Communist government to tighten its grip on the country's Catholics while others applaud it as a step towards closer ties with the Vatican.

As Francis sought to make inroads for the Church in China, it was renewed in 2020, 2022 and 2024 -- most recently for a four-year term.

"Will the next pope have such a temporary agreement?" asked Wu.

- 'Faith has no nationality' -

China will be one of the major issues discussed by the cardinal electors at the conclave to select Francis's successor, said Paul Mariani, a Jesuit priest and professor of history at Santa Clara University.

The future of the deal, and relations between the Vatican and Beijing, remain uncertain, experts said.

"The next pope is definitely free to do whatever he wishes with the provisional agreement," Mariani told AFP.

"The fact is that it could be changed at will as it is not a matter of doctrine."

China's constitution guarantees religious freedom and Catholicism is recognised by the state.

However, rights groups say religious organisations face routine persecution and that freedom to worship is severely curtailed -- a trend they say has worsened under Xi.

The Vatican "compromised much" to secure the agreement while the ruling Communist Party "took it as a victory for effectively reducing the underground church", said Fenggang Yang, the director of the Center on Religion and the Global East at Purdue University.

"Nowadays, the underground Catholic practice is much more costly," he said.

The underground church is not trying to stoke division, Inner Mongolia's Wu said.

"We just want to pursue an orthodox and pure belief," he added.

And Chenxing,the Hebei churchgoer, rejected the view that Catholicism was rooted in foreign influence.

"Only people who don't know Him think He is Western," she said, referring to Jesus Christ.

Standing quietly nearby, fellow lifelong believer Jingtu agreed.

"Faith has no nationality," the farmer said.

B.Mahmoud--SF-PST