Their names are once again included in the list of the 368 members of the Synod picked by the pontiff, which was released today at a press conference announcing the event at the Holy See Press Office.
As Card Jean-Claude Hollerich, Archbishop of Luxembourg and relator general of the Synod, explained, almost all the members participated in the first session in October 2023; only 26 have changed, essentially replacements because of impediments that have intervened since then.
One of the new is Bishop Zhan Silu, who was appointed by Pope Francis in place of Bishop Anthony Yao Shun of Jining, who was present last year.
In response to a question about the change and on the duration of the presence of the two Chinese bishops (who left the Synod in October 2023 before the end of the work), Card Grech, secretary general of the Synod, said that "the Secretariat of State communicated the names to us, but we have no other information on the matter.”
All this suggests that the choice to designate Bishop Zhan Silu in lieu of Bishop Yao Shun was done by the official bodies of the Chinese Catholic community, which are controlled by Chinese authorities.
It is also worth noting that the bishop of Mindong, who is 63, is one of the eight illegally ordained prelates whose excommunication Pope Francis revoked in 2018, following the signing of the Provisional Agreement between the Holy See and the People's Republic of China.
The prelate had been ordained, in fact, on 6 January 2000 without papal mandate in a ceremony that took place in Beijing.
It should be added that already the Synod on young people, held in the Vatican in 2018, saw the participation of Bishop Joseph Guo Jincai of Chengde, one of the bishops whose excommunication the Pope had lifted just a few weeks earlier.
As for Archbishop Zhan Silu, it should be noted that in Fujian province, one of the areas where the Catholic presence in China is historically strongest, the application of the Provisional Agreement cause pain in the local "underground" community.
Mindong is the diocese where Bishop Vincent Guo Xijin resigned in October 2020, just after two years, unwilling to accept the pressures on the clergy who (like himself) refused to register with official bodies controlled by the party. According to the Holy See, the “underground” bishop was supposed to support Bishop Zhan Silu as auxiliary bishop (both pictured at Chrism Mass in 2019).
Upon withdrawing to a life of prayer, Bishop Guo Xijin, who is now 66, described himself in an open letter as "stupid" and a "scoundrel," unable to keep up with the times and with the style "of the Church in China and in our diocese.”
As for the work of the Synodal Assembly, like last year, it will be preceded by a spiritual retreat that this time will be held in the Vatican on 30 September and 1 October, and will end with a penitential vigil that Pope Francis will preside in St Peter's Basilica.
During the celebration, three people will deliver their testimonies, one who has suffered the sin of abuse, one the sin of war, and one the sin of indifference in the face of tragedies related to migration.
A request for forgiveness will follow, pronounced by the Pope, for sins that include, in addition to those mentioned above, the failure to listen, to take the communion, and to participate in the life of the Church.