"We have had local elections for bishops and seven candidates have already been submitted and are awaiting approval," said Liu Bainian, president of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, the government body which runs the Chinese Church.

The proposed ordinations follow those of Frs Paul Lei Shiyin and Huang Bingzhand, both of whom have subsequently been excommunicated, bringing relations between the Vatican and China to a new low.

Recently ucanews.com reported prominent Cardinal Joseph Zen describing China - Vatican relations as effectively being in a state of "war."

The move is set to further antagonise the Vatican.

Asked if the new candidates were approved by the Holy See, Mr Liu said: "There's no official channel for communications, but we cannot delay the election of our bishops because it is important to spread the gospel. We hope that the Vatican will respect the outcome of our elections."

China's 12 million Catholics are allowed to worship with the state-sanctioned Church which recognises the Pope as a spiritual leader but rejects his authority to appoint bishops.

A thriving underground Catholic Church in China remains loyal to the Vatican.

Sources

• CathNews - Pope excommunicates Chinese bishop
• CathNews - Copy bishop ordained in China
• The Independent
• The Telegraph
• Image: ucanews.com

Filling the more than 40 empty bishop's seats is an urgent task because the vacancies are causing serious problems in the handling of church affairs, the official Xinhua News Agency quoted a spokesman as saying. China's Catholic Church had agreed at a recent meeting to "strive to select and ordain bishops in these dioceses without delay."

Source

• christianpost.com
• Image: Clerical Whispers