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New bishop ordained in China

China's official Catholic church has installed a new Vatican-approved bishop, the third to be ordained in a month, state media and a Rome-based religious news agency reported yesterday.

Joseph Li Jing (李晶), 40, was ordained as a bishop of the diocese of Ningxia in northern China on Friday, according to the China Daily newspaper and AsiaNews, a news portal reporting on Catholicism in the region.

The ordination took place at Yinchuan Cathedral in the Muslim-dominated Ningxia region before a 2,000-strong congregation, after a two-week delay because of earlier government intervention, according to the Vatican-backed agency AsiaNews.

'UNSPECIFIED'

"The government had previously stopped the ceremony for an `unspecified reason,'" the agency said.

Although the Holy See had approved Li's name three years ago, he was only elected by his diocese last year, it said.

And the election was only officially sanctioned last month by the state-approved Chinese Catholic Bishops College, the China Daily reported.

Li became the third Vatican-approved bishop within a month, after Joseph Gan Junqiu (甘俊邱) was installed bishop of Guangzhou in southern China and Francis Lu Shouwang (呂守旺) became the bishop of central Yichang.

Both 42-year-old Gan's and 41-year-old Lu's ordinations had also received the blessing of the Pope.

The Holy See has long been at odds with China's communist-run church over the appointment of bishops, but in recent months Beijing has appeared willing to appoint church leaders that have the blessing of the Pope.

The situation has evolved since the Vatican began working to re-establish its relations with China, where Catholicism has boomed in recent decades.

China severed its ties with the Vatican in 1951 in anger at the Holy See's diplomatic recognition of Taiwan.

EYES ON THE CHURCH

In 1957, China set up the Patriotic Association, which formally oversees the country's officially registered Catholics.

The association estimates there are up to 5 million followers of the government-led church.

However, up to an estimated 10 million "underground" Chinese Catholics continue to pledge allegiance to the Pope, worship in unofficial churches and are often subject to police and government harassment.
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