BEIJING – China's state-controlled Catholic church says it will move swiftly to appoint new bishops in dioceses where there are none, in a step that is certain to worsen tensions with the Vatican.

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 for the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association as saying Thursday.

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