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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)