c. 2006 Religion News Service
VATICAN CITY _ The Vatican accused China on Thursday (May 4) of consecrating two bishops in the country’s state-run church against their will, and said such actions will damage efforts to repair the strained ties between the Holy See and Beijing.
The comments, in the form of a forcefully-worded statement from papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls, said the consecrations of two bishops occurred without Pope Benedict XVI’s approval and may set up the men for excommunication.
However, because the Vatican said the men were named bishops “against their conscience,” the bishops may not be automatically excommunicated even though their actions are considered schismatic.
On Sunday (April 30), the state-run church made Ma Yinglin the bishop of Kunming, in China’s Yunnan province. Liu Xinhong, a second bishop, was consecrated to head the diocese of Wuhu, in the Anhui province, on Wednesday.
In pushing the appointments through, Beijing has angered Catholic officials who see the promotions as a powergrab that reverses a compromise between Benedict and China’s communist government. For years, Beijing and the Holy See have cooperated on naming new bishops to serve in China’s state-run church, giving the pope the right to formally approve them and allowing China to actually name them to the posts.
“According to the information received, bishops and priests have been put under strong pressure and threats to make them take part in the consecrations,” Navarro-Valls said. He said the appointments took place “without the pope’s approval,” calling them “illegitimate.”
“We are thus facing a serious violation of religious liberty,” Navarro-Valls said.
The spokesman cited church law that regards the naming of bishops without papal approval as a schismatic act that results in a de facto excommunication for the bishops and officials involved in their promotion. He did not say, however, whether the bishops would face formal excommunication.
Beijing argues that the decision to act without the papal nod has the popular support of Chinese Catholics who need new leaders to fill vacant posts.
Five million Chinese Catholics currently belong to a state-controlled “Catholic” church, while at least 8 million faithful are believed to belong to an underground church loyal to Pope Benedict XVI. Members of the underground church are routinely harassed, beaten and jailed by Chinese authorities.
Earlier this week Cardinal Joseph Zen of Hong Kong called for a halt to informal talks between the Vatican and China aimed at restoring diplomatic ties that were severed in 1951.
The Vatican statement echoed Zen, noting that the ordinations “not only hurt that dialogue, but in fact create obstacles against it.”
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