ROME—The Vatican is encouraging Catholic bishops and priests in China to register with state authorities, a sign of the pope’s bigger push for rapprochement with Beijing even at a cost to the church’s independence.

The Vatican’s recommendation in a document published Friday is aimed at clergy in what is known as China’s underground church, whose bishops have been approved by Rome but not by the government in Beijing. The Chinese government has long appointed its own rival Catholic bishops, often not approved by the Vatican.

Last year, Pope Francis agreed with China to recognize bishops Beijing had appointed, and to jointly select bishops from then on. Critics say the special arrangement with China amounts to a surrender of religious freedom.

Friday’s document is a further sign of Pope Francis’ willingness to accommodate Beijing in his quest to overcome the disunity of Catholicism in China. China broke off diplomatic relations with the Vatican in 1951, shortly after the country’s Communist revolution. Pope Francis has made overcoming the rift with Beijing a priority of his pontificate, although full diplomatic relations aren’t in sight.

A large share of China’s estimated 12 million Catholics have refused to register with the state-controlled Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, as required by Chinese law. The government in the past persecuted the unauthorized underground church. More recently it has usually tolerated it, though those who refuse on principle to register often suffer persecution.