China's Catholic church ordains another bishop (AFP)

BEIJING (AFP) – China's state-controlled Catholic church on Thursday ordained another bishop, its vice president said, in a move likely to worsen ties with the Vatican, which did not give its approval.

Liu Bainian, deputy head of the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association (CPCA) -- which controls the church -- told AFP that Huang Bingzhang had been ordained in Shantou city in the southern province of Guangdong.

The Vatican and China have been locked in a bitter struggle in recent months over control of the Catholic Church in China, with the Vatican saying that ordinations being carried out by the state-run church are illegitimate.

China's 5.7 million Catholics are increasingly caught between showing allegiance to the CPCA, or to the Pope as part of an "underground" Church.

Illustrating this, three bishops loyal to the Pope went missing or were detained recently in an apparent attempt to force them to take part in Huang's state-sanctioned ordination, their diocese members told AFP.

The issue has angered the Vatican, which has not had formal diplomatic ties with Beijing since 1951.

Earlier in July, the Rome excommunicated an "illegitimate" Chinese bishop and in May the Pope called on all bishops to "refuse to take the path of separation" in spite of "pressure" from the communist authorities.

But China has ignored these appeals. Last month, it announced that it would try to ordain at least 40 bishops "without delay".

And earlier this week, foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said that China ordained bishops "in accordance with the principles of independence, self-reliance and self-governance".

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China detains Vatican-backed Catholic priest (AFP)

BEIJING, China (AFP) – Chinese police detained a Vatican-backed Catholic priest and blocked his ordination as a bishop, a parishioner said Thursday, in a move likely to raise tensions with the Holy See.

The detention of Joseph Sun Jigeng came as China's state-run Catholic church reportedly ordained another bishop without the consent of the Vatican, which stipulates ordinations can only go ahead with the Holy See's blessing.

"Joseph Sun Jigeng was taken away by police on June 26 and he has not been released," a member of the Handan Catholic church in northern China's Hebei province told AFP by phone.

"On June 29, we had planned to have the ordination ceremony, but the police have blocked the road and no ceremony can be held. Police said it was an 'illegal activity'," said the church member, who refused to be named.

He added the Handan diocese had already called for the release of Sun and sent a letter of protest to government departments involved.

But the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association (CPCA) -- which controls the state-backed church -- denied Sun, 43, had been detained when contacted by AFP, while police in Handan refused to comment.

The Vatican and China have not had formal diplomatic ties since 1951, when the Holy See angered Mao Zedong's Communist government by recognising the Nationalist Chinese regime in Taiwan as the legitimate government of China.

But as China's Catholic population has grown in recent years the two sides have warmed to each other, although Beijing's insistence in overriding Vatican authority in approving bishops has cast a shadow over improved ties.

Last week, the Beijing-backed church said it wanted to ordain at least 40 bishops "without delay".

On Wednesday, Paul Lei Shiyin was ordained without Vatican approval as the bishop of Leshan in a ceremony held in southwest China's Sichuan province, the Vatican-linked AsiaNews website reported.

Liu Bainian, deputy head of the CPCA, confirmed Lei's ordination but was noncommittal about Vatican approval.

"We have not contacted the Vatican on this, but I think they know it. I'm not sure whether they agreed to this or not," he said.

China's 5.7 million Catholics are caught between staying loyal to the ruling Communist Party or showing allegiance to the pope as part of an "underground" Church not recognised by the authorities.

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