China on Sunday responded to Vatican's criticism on its
ordination of an assistant bishop, calling the latter's accusation
"unreasonable."
The Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association last Thursday
ordained Wang Renlei, Bishop Coadjutor of the Xuzhou diocese in Jiangsu Province. The ordination was roundly
criticized by the Vatican as "unlawful."
A spokesperson of the State Administration of Religious Affairs
said that China and the Vatican have no official ties, pointing out
that the two have not reached any tacit agreements on bishop
ordinations and that the Vatican has never recognized the Chinese
Catholic Bishops College.
The spokesperson said due to this situation, China, as requested
by the Chinese Catholic Church, had informed the Vatican in advance
of the selection and ordination.
"Given the status quo of the China-Vatican relations and the
fact that the Chinese Catholic Bishops College has conducted
assessments and the Xuzhou diocese has completed the selection and
been prepared for the ordination, Vatican's requests of stopping
and postponing the ordination is unreasonable," the spokesperson
said. "Its accusation after the ordination also makes no
sense."
94-year old Qian Yurong, Bishop of the Xuzhou diocese, is
reported to have expressed hope that the selection of Bishop
Coadjutor should be conducted as soon as possible.
On Oct. 21, Wang Renlei was nominated as Bishop Coadjutor by the
Catholic priests and believers in the Xuzhou diocese after an
election in accordance with Catholic tradition and the relevant
rules of the Chinese Catholic Bishops College.
The spokesperson said the Chinese Catholic Bishops College
thoroughly examined Wang's qualifications and believe him to be a
man of pious faith, moral integrity and outstanding capability with
rich working experience, making him an excellent nominee.
China now has 97 dioceses, but over 40 of them do not have
bishops and most active bishops are elderly. "The churches could
not exist without bishops," the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said over the past five decades, Chinese
Catholic churches have selected and ordained more than 170 bishops
in the course of their own development and progress.
Such moves responded to the "urgent need" of China's Catholic
churches to manage church affairs and spread the Catholic faith,
the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said the Chinese government respects and
supports Chinese Catholic churches' choices.
"If the Vatican really cares about the cause of China's Catholic
churches, there should, naturally, be understanding and support
(from it)," the spokesperson said.
Official statistics show over 5 million Catholic believers in
China up from 2.7 million half a century ago.
The spokesperson said the Chinese government has always been
"positive" in improving relations?with the Vatican and is
ready for "constructive" dialogue with the Vatican on issues
including the ordination of bishops.
On Thursday, China's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu also
called for the Vatican to "understand" the ordination of bishops by
the Chinese church and see it from a positive way.
Since last April, the Chinese Catholic Church has also ordained
the bishops of Suzhou, Kunming, Anhui and Liaoning after informing the Vatican
via?private and personal channels?in
advance.
(Xinhua News Agency December 4, 2006)