Vatican Excommunicates Bishop Ordained by China

Posted July 16th, 2011 at 9:20 am (UTC-5)
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The Vatican says it has excommunicated a bishop ordained this week in China without papal approval, heightening tensions between the Roman Catholic church and Beijing.

The Holy See on Saturday condemned China's state-sanctioned Catholic church for ordaining Joseph Huang Bingzhang despite its warnings that he would not be recognized because the Vatican already has a bishop in Shantou city. The Rome church said the Chinese-ordained bishop has no authority to govern the Catholic community in the diocese located in southern Guandong province.

China's 5.7 million Catholics are split between those who are loyal to Pope Benedict and those who are members of the church sanctioned by China's communist government. The Vatican said Beijing forced some of its official bishops to attend Thursday's ordination of Huang against their will and praised them for attempting to resist.

The Rome church called their resistance “meritorious before God.”

Tensions between the Vatican and Beijing have intensified in recent months, with Huang the third bishop China has ordained without Rome's permission. Pope Benedict has accused the Chinese government of pressuring the church's bishops in China to separate from the Holy See.

The Vatican insists it alone has the right to consecrate its bishops in China, while the communist government says it sees that as foreign interference.

The church has not had formal diplomatic relations with Beijing since 1951, two years after the communist government assumed power. The Vatican says it is willing to open talks with Beijing on setting up diplomatic relations. But China says the Vatican must first relinquish its recognition of Taiwan, the self-administered island that China considers part of its domain.