Over the past years, there has been a growing cultural interest in Christianity even among the upper echelons of the Communist Party close to President Xi Jinping
The details of Catholic practice, however, are extremely complicated and it is hard to predict whether they will be respected and followed during every such ceremony to be held in the future.
Many people in Beijing and Vatican are eager to scuttle the ties between China and the Holy See. Against this background, the recent ceremony in Anyang came as a clear sign of “parallel consensus”, as Falasca noted in Avvenire.
This consensus seems to be hinging on a growing mutual recognition of the principles each stands for.
The consecration comes just a month before Xi Jinping and the Pope are likely to be present in New York.
On several occasions, Pope Francis had expressed his willingness to meet Xi Jinping.
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In the past, many Chinese intellectuals had underlined ties with Vatican which, they argued, could help the world, especially the West, understand China better.
The next few months will be very crucial for this extremely important relationship.
Francis, the first pope from Latin America, was elected pontiff on March 13, 2013.
On the very next day, Xi Jinping became the new president of the People’s Republic of China.
Both are trying to purge and reform the institutions they head, and they are about to make History.
Stefano Fait, forecasting foresight anticipation 