The Vatican’s
unusually public condemnation of a newly ordained Chinese bishop this
week — in which he was effectively excommunicated and other top Chinese
church officials were warned of “serious” consequences — has exacerbated
the already frayed relations between the Holy See and China’s
governing Communist Party as officials here make plans to ordain dozens
more bishops, many without the Vatican’s approval.
The decision to formally announce the rejection of the bishop, the Rev.
Paul Lei Shiyin, of Sichuan Province, came shortly after China’s
state-run Catholic church ignored the Vatican’s objections and went
ahead with Bishop Lei’s ordination ceremony, which was attended by seven
other bishops previously recognized by Rome.
Reached by phone, a Vatican official declined to discuss the case but in
a statement, church officials said Pope Benedict XVI was deeply
saddened by the move, saying it “sows division and unfortunately
produces rifts and tensions in the Catholic community in China.”
The Vatican said the seven bishops who took part in the ordination had
“exposed themselves to serious canonical sanctions,” which experts said
could include excommunication.
A spokesman for the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, the
government body that oversees state-run Catholic churches, would not
talk about the clash.
But in an e-mailed statement, the association
expressed regret over the Vatican’s decision, saying it would prove
divisive.
“It will bring more disputes to all churches and will affect the spread
of the Gospel and church development,” the statement said.
Francesco Sisci, a journalist based in Beijing and a former Italian
diplomat who is an expert on Sino-Vatican relations, said that all
ordained bishops not approved by the pope are automatically
excommunicated, so the Vatican’s additional step of announcing it — and
the threat to those who took part in the ritual — was especially
significant.
“When the pope decides to announce this and make it clear, it is very
serious,” Mr. Sisci said.
“The mechanism of communication between both
sides is breaking down,” he added. “If there are a certain number of
bishops who are not ordained by the Vatican, this church could become
schismatic.”
China cut ties with the Vatican in 1951, shortly after the Communists
came to power.
Although the wholesale persecution of religion has eased
significantly in China, the state still maintains a firm grip on
organized religious practice, and it is especially wary of the challenge
presented by papal authority.
There are nearly six million adherents of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic
Church.
Some experts say nearly twice that number practice in
unofficial churches whose members are loyal to the Pope — and whose
clergy risk harassment and jail by Chinese authorities for their
defiance.
Despite decades of animosity and mistrust, relations between Beijing and
the Vatican have improved in recent years but the appointment of
bishops remains a major point of contention.
Last year, both sides
appeared close to reaching a compromise on the issue, but after a
prolonged stalemate, the patriotic association last November went ahead
with the ordination of a bishop, who had not been approved by the
Vatican, in the northern city of Chengde.
Last month, the association
signaled its continued willingness to override the papal mandate by
suggesting that it might ordain another 40 bishops “without delay.”
Although Vatican officials have not publicly detailed their specific
objections to the choice of the Bishop Lei, they said he was rejected
for “proven and very grave reasons” that he and other bishops are well
aware of.
Reached by phone on Friday, several parishioners and religious leaders
in Bishop Lei’s diocese in Leshan, a city famous for its giant stone
Buddha, said they had not heard about the Vatican’s announcement. Rev.
Zhang Mingzhong, a priest at Wutongqiao Catholic Church, said the bishop
was well respected in and around Leshan.
“All the churches are on the right track of development under Bishop
Lei’s leadership,” he said. “He is well loved by all his congregants.”
When Chinese church officials gathered in Leshan last week for the
bishop’s ordination, the planned consecration of another bishop in
northern Hebei Province ended much differently.
Bishop-elect Joseph Sun Jigen, whose appointment had been approved by
the pope, was reported to have been forced into a police car three days
before the planned ceremony.
The ceremony was canceled and, as of
earlier this week, the would-be bishop, according to parishioners, was
still being held at a guesthouse.