China and the Holy See have reached a consensus on the appointment of bishops, Cardinal John Tong of Hong Kong has said. “From now on, there will be no more the crisis of a division between the open and underground communities in the Church in China,” he said. “On the contrary, these two communities will gradually move toward reconciliation and communion on the aspects of law, pastoral care and relationships. The Church in China will work together to preach the Gospel of Jesus on the soil of China.” In a letter published last week, Cardinal Tong noted that China and the Vatican had different interests, so would prioritise the remaining problems differently. “The Chinese government is concerned with problems on the political level, while for the Holy See, the problems are on the religious and pastoral levels,” he said. The Vatican and China, which severed diplomatic ties in 1951, have had on-again, off-again talks since the 1980s. Under Pope Francis, the two restarted a formal dialogue in 2014. In recent years, because of government requirements, the priests, nuns and lay people of Chinese dioceses have elected their bishops. Most of those elected have applied to the Holy See for approval. Cardinal Tong said the Sino-Vatican dialogue indicates that China now will “let the Pope play a role in the nomination and ordination of Chinese bishops”. Since, under Church law, the Pope has the final say in the appointment of bishops, this would solve several problems, he said. “Beijing will also recognise the Pope’s right of veto and that the Pope is the highest and final authority in deciding on candidates for bishops in China,” he said. The Catholic Patriotic Association advocated the “self-nomination and self-ordination” of bishops, but if the agreement on papal approval of bishops was reached, that principle would become history, he said. “If the Pope has the final word about the worthiness and suitability of an episcopal candidate, the elections of local churches and the recommendations of the bishops’ conference will simply be a way to express recommendations,” Cardinal Tong said. This move would turn the government-controlled Patriotic Association into a “voluntary, non-profit, patriotic and Church-loving organisation composed of clergy and faithful from all around the country,” Cardinal Tong said. He also said seven bishops who had been illegitimately consecrated had already written to the Pope asking for forgiveness and signalling their “willingness to submit themselves to the Pope unconditionally”.