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July 08, 2011

NYT: Vatican condemnation of new Chinese Bishop worsens tensions

by Andrew Jacobs
The New York Times

BEIJING — The Vatican’s unusually public condemnation of a newly ordained Chinese bishop this week — in which he was effectively excommunicated and other top Chinese church officials were warned of “serious” consequences — has aggravated the already frayed relations between the Holy See and China’s governing Communist Party as officials here make plans to ordain dozens more bishops, many without the Vatican’s approval.

The decision to formally announce the rejection of the bishop, the Rev. Paul Lei Shiyin, of Sichuan Province, came shortly after China’s state-run Catholic church ignored the Vatican’s objections and went ahead with Bishop Lei’s ordination ceremony, which was attended by seven other bishops previously recognized by Rome.

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