China's national church picks new leaders in defiance of Pope

(December 10, 2010) New leaders were elected on Thursday for two national organizations of China's government-backed Catholic Church, a move that shows continued disregard for the Holy See and the Pope. Bishop Fang Xinyao of Linyi is the new chairman of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association. Though approved by the Vatican, he is seen as somewhat weak in the face of government pressure because he has presided over ordinations of prelates who have not gained the Pope's approval. Bishop Xinyao went on to appoint vice presidents and the secretary-general. Meanwhile, Bishop Joseph Ma Yinglin of Kunming, nominated without papal mandate, is the new president of the Bishops' Conference of the Catholic Church of China. The Catholic Patriotic Association is the body through which the Chinese government recognizes religious personnel and registers places of worship. Communist China forced its Roman Catholics to cut ties with the Vatican in 1951, and worship is allowed only in state-backed churches, although millions of Chinese belong to unofficial congregations loyal to Rome. Ties between China and the Vatican already were strained because of a dispute over the Nov. 20 ordination of the Rev. Joseph Guo Jincai as a bishop without papal approval. The Vatican says only it has the right to name bishops, and the question of their appointment has been the main stumbling block in resuming relations with the government in Beijing.