教皇的中国梦 | 卫报

Pope Francis targets deal with China in year of mercy

For more than 50 years the Vatican’s relationship with China has been intractable. But if  has his way, a deal to bridge what many believe is an insurmountable divide between the Roman Catholic church and the communist Chinese government could be announced within the next 30 days.

五十多年来，梵蒂冈和中国的关系一向棘手，可若是教皇方济各遂愿，未来三十天内将公布一项协议，在许多人看来，罗马天主教堂与中共政府间难以克服的鸿沟将搭起一座桥梁。

According to one person who has closely followed developments, the pope would like to seal a deal before the conclusion on 20 November of the , which was called by the pontiff to celebrate acts of forgiveness.

据密切跟踪事态发展的人士说，教皇希望在11月20日“仁慈之圣年”结束前签署一项协议。罗马教宗设立“仁慈之圣年”以赞美宽恕行为。

Any agreement that solves the thorniest issue between the two sides – the Vatican’s right to appoint its own bishops in  – would represent the most consequential diplomatic feat of the Francis’s papacy.

解决双方最棘手问题的任何协议——梵蒂冈自行任命中国各主教的权利，都代表着方济各教皇任期内最具影响力的外交成就。

It would also spur a debate about whether Francis – a Jesuit who has always promoted  but has  – has been too willing to ignore concerns about human rights and religious freedom for the sake of furthering the Vatican’s own interests in a country that is officially atheist. While , Catholicism has lagged behind.

这也将引发讨论，强调“接触”的耶稣会士方济各，在一个官方主张无神论的国家，促进梵蒂冈的利益，这未免太心急了。原因是福音派基督教在中国爆炸性增长，天主教却落后了。

“For me, China has always been a reference point of greatness. A great country. But more than a country, a great culture, with an inexhaustible wisdom,” the pope told Asia Times this year.

教皇今年对《亚洲时报》说：“对我而言，中国一直堪称伟大。一个伟大的国家。不仅是个国家，还有伟大的文化，取之不尽的智慧。”

Since his election in 2013, there have been subtle signs that the relationship between the Vatican and Beijing has warmed. There was  to President Xi Jinping as his papal plane flew in Chinese airspace on the way to Taiwan in 2014, and the gift of a silk print, symbolic of Christianity’s presence in China, that was reportedly given to the pope this month by a representative of Xi, though the accuracy of that story has not been confirmed.

教皇2013年当选后，有微妙的迹象显示梵蒂冈和北京的关系热络起来。2014年教皇乘机赴台进入中国领空时向习近平主席发了电报，据称本月习主席代表赠送教皇丝画，象征基督教在中国布道，尽管真实性还未经确认。

Chinese Catholics are free to go to mass and attend church, but barred from proselytising.

中国天主教徒可以自由做弥撒，去教堂，但禁止改宗。

No one believes that negotiations between the two sides will lead to formal diplomatic relations, a move that would force the Vatican to break ties with Taiwan. 

没人认为谈判会让双方建立外交关系，那一举动意味着梵蒂冈必须和台湾断交。

Jeroom Heyndrickx, a Belgian priest who has championed the negotiations, said the talks were centred on whether the  would be given permission to appoint its own bishops.

主持谈判的比利时牧师Jeroom Heyndrickx表示，对话集中在梵蒂冈能否获准任命自己的主教。

There is also a disagreement over the the fate of eight “illegal” bishops appointed by officials in China, some of whom have been excommunicated by the Vatican.

双方尚未对八名中国任命的主教达成共识，有些主教已被梵蒂冈开除教籍。

“There have been some efforts at dialogue in the past, but never so intensive and ongoing and with perseverance on both sides,” Heyndrickx said. “The situation is more hopeful now than it has been in 65 years.” 

Heyndrickx说：“过去曾尝试某种对话，但从未如此密集，谈判很持久，双方很努力。现在的情况比过去65年都更有希望。”

Reaching an initial agreement on the bishops could make it easier to tackle other issues, such as the fate of the China Catholic Patriotic Association, a state-controlled organisation that controls the church and appoints bishops.

对主教人选初步达成一致会让其他问题的解决更加容易，例如中国天主教爱国会的命运，它管理着教会并任命主教。

Heyndrickx said negotiations between the Vatican and Beijing were set to recommence later this month. A preliminary agreement that was reportedly reached in August would allow the pope to choose bishops from candidates recommended by the CCPA.

Heyndrickx说梵蒂冈与北京间的谈判将在本月末重启。据称8月已达成初步意向，允许教皇从中国天主教爱国会推荐的候选人中选任主教。

Church sources have separately told Reuters that China is preparing to ordain at least two new bishops before the end of the year, and these appointments would have the blessing of the Vatican. 

来自不同教堂的消息对路透社说，中国准备在年底任命至少两名新主教，任命将得到梵蒂冈的祝福。

The  against any such deal is Cardinal Joseph Zen, a former bishop of Hong Kong and critic of China’s human rights record. “It is unthinkable to leave the initial proposal in the hands of an atheist government who cannot possibly judge the suitability of a candidate to be a bishop,” he wrote  for AsiaNews in September.

最坚定的批评者是枢机主教陈日君，他曾任香港主教。他9月在亚洲新闻的一篇文章中写道：“很难想象把提名权交给一个无神论政府，它可能没法判定一个主教是否胜任。” 

John Allen, the editor of The Crux, a Catholic publication, said Francis – like his predecessors, Pope Benedict XVI and John Paul II – had signalled a willingness to address China’s concerns that the church would be hostile to the state if it was shown any latitude.

天主教出版物《十字座》编辑John Allen说方济各个前任教皇本笃十六世和保禄二世一样，表明愿意解决中国的担忧，后者担忧如果放开，教会会与国家为敌。

He said the Vatican was pursuing a “huge long-term interest” in its courting of China, which was controversial in some circles within the church. But the real difficulty in hammering out a deal was not resistance inside the Vatican but rather China’s objections.

他说梵蒂冈讨好中国，谋求“巨大的长期利益”，这在教会内部引发了争议。但达成协议的真正困难并非梵蒂冈内部的抵抗，而是中国的反对。

“The problem is it says if you give the Christians, and the Catholics in particular, an inch, they are going to take a mile. Ultimately this is about who controls the Catholic community. Is the primary loyalty to the state or the pope?,” Allen said.

“问题在于中国认为基督教，尤其天主教，得寸进尺。说到底是谁来控制天主教社区。更忠于国家还是忠于教皇？”

Successive popes have had an answer to that question: it can be both. “But the Chinese to date are divided on whether that is true,” Allen said.

历届教皇的答案是：两者皆然。“但迄今为止，是否真是如此。中国人还意见不一。”

The difference between the current negotiations and previous talks is Francis himself. The first non-European pope is viewed as less political and more sympathetic to interests outside the US and Europe, experts say.

目前的谈判和此前的对话的区别就是方济各本人。专家们说，作为第一个非欧洲教皇，他被认为政治性不强，对非美国和欧洲的利益更加同情。

Francesco Sisci, a senior researcher at China Renmin University in Beijing, noted that Francis was the first pope to have his homilies translated in China.

中国人民大学高级研究员郗士指出方济各是第一个将其布道翻译成中文的教皇。

“Of course, he is not a superstar, he is not as popular as a rock star, but he is known to the Chinese public and that is very different from other popes, who were totally unknown” Sisci said.

“当然，他也不是超级明星，他没有摇滚歌星那么出名，但中国公众知道他，和完全不被人知的其他教皇不一样。”

Richard McGregor, a China expert, said it was not clear why agreeing a deal with the Vatican would be a priority for senior officials.

中国专家Richard McGregor说尚不清楚为什么与梵蒂冈达成协议成为高级官员的要务。

"There are lots of obstacles in the way of a genuine deal. At the same time, they have many other political priorities in the area of managing and keeping a lid on religion, so it is hard to see why China would compromise.”

“毕竟要达成真正的协议还有诸多障碍。同时，他们在管理和管制宗教方面还有许多政治要务，很难理解为什么中国要妥协。”

While a deal would be a propaganda coup for Beijing and put pressure on Taiwan, McGregor said there were “fundamental issues of authority” at stake that would make it hard for the Vatican to demand any guarantees on control of the church in the mainland.

达成协议对北京而言是一种宣传，给台湾施加了压力，McGregor却说“有关权威的基本问题”最为关键，这使得梵蒂冈很难获得保证，使自己能够控制大陆的教会。

Pope Francis is said to have a special devotion to Mary, the “undoer of knots”. After brokering a deal that saw the US and Cuba  last year, the pontiff may find a breakthrough with China during the year of mercy a deal worth doing, no matter how big the knot.

据说教皇方济各特别信奉“解结人”玛丽。去年斡旋美国和古巴恢复外交关系后，教宗可能在仁慈年中与中国取得突破，这值得去做，无论“结”有多大。