On June 11, 73-year-old Lin Yuntuan was appointed as the auxiliary bishop of Fuzhou. The Vatican expressed satisfaction with this news in a brief statement on Wednesday, calling it another result of dialogue between the Holy See and Chinese authorities, marking an important step.

Lin had previously been appointed as a bishop of the underground church in 2017. Michel Chambon, a researcher at the Asian Research Institute in Singapore, analyzed in an interview with Reuters that this indicates a willingness to replace confrontation with reconciliation.

In 2018, the Vatican and China reached a secret agreement regarding bishop appointments, which has sparked controversy within the Catholic Church. Some conservative Catholics have criticized the agreement as giving too many concessions to the ruling Communist Party of China. Since 1949, the CCP has imposed severe restrictions on religious freedom.

According to the official website of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, Lin pledged during his inauguration ceremony to uphold the national constitution and laws, as well as to maintain national unity and social harmony. The Vatican estimates that there are about 5 million Catholics in China. The agreement on bishop appointments between the Vatican and Beijing has been extended for another four years until October 2024, and the contents of the agreement have not been made public, with only some diplomats providing relevant information.