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China ignores pope, ordains bishop
‘ILLEGITIMATE’:AsiaNews said three Vatican-approved
bishops had been sequestered by the government a few days ago to force them to
participate in the ceremony
AP, CHENGDE, CHINA
China’s government-backed Catholic Church yesterday ordained a bishop who did
not have the pope’s approval, despite objections from the Vatican and comments
by a key papal adviser that the move was “illegitimate” and “shameful.”
The Reverend Guo Jincai’s (郭金才) ordination at Pingquan Church in Chengde City
was carried out amid strong security, with dozens of police blocking the
building and denying entrance to reporters. However, there was also an air of
festivity, with colorful banners and traditional Chinese lanterns hanging
outside the church and worshipers posing for photos.
China’s first ordination without papal approval in almost five years threatens
to hurt the officially atheist country’s already shaky relations with the
Vatican, and the Holy See had warned reconciliation efforts would be set back if
bishops were forced to attend.
Eight Vatican-approved bishops participated in the ceremony, according to
AsiaNews, a Vatican-affiliated missionary news agency that closely covers the
Church in China.
Three of them — Monsignors Paul Pei Junmin (裴軍民) of Liaoning, Joseph Li Lianggui
(李連貴) of Cangzhou and Peter Feng Xinmao (封新卯) of Hengshui — had been sequestered
by the government a few days ago to pressure them into participating, AsiaNews
said, citing Chinese Catholic sources.
Communist China forced its Roman Catholics to cut ties with the Vatican in 1951,
and worship is allowed only in state-backed churches, although millions of
Chinese belong to unofficial congregations loyal to Rome.
In recent years, under Pope Benedict XVI, relations have improved. Disputes over
appointments in China’s official church have been avoided by quietly conferring
on candidates, leading to several ordinations of bishops with the Holy See’s
blessing.
However, Guo does not have the pope’s approval and it was perhaps his role as
deputy secretary of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, the
state-controlled group that runs China’s Catholic churches, that raised Vatican
concerns.
Liu Bainian (劉柏年), vice chairman of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association,
said the Vatican knew about the need for a bishop in Chengde two years ago.
“I believe the pope loves China. I believe just a handful of people in the
Vatican are hindering the improvement of relations,” he said.
The Vatican had no immediate comment yesterday.
Liu had said attendance by bishops at the ceremony would be voluntary.
“A Catholic diocese cannot be without a bishop, or the Gospel cannot be spread,”
Liu said. “We should not let any political reasons interfere with the spread of
the Gospel in China.”
He said that in time, China would elect bishops for more than 40 Catholic
dioceses that are currently without them and expressed hope that the Vatican
would endorse them.
Guo’s ordination is the first without papal approval since 2006, when three
bishop ordinations in China drew Vatican criticism, said an expert at a Catholic
research center in Hong Kong who declined to be named.
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