Chinese police detained a Vatican-backed Catholic priest and blocked
his ordination as a bishop, a parishioner said Thursday, in a move
likely to raise tensions with the Holy See.
The detention of
Joseph Sun Jigeng came as China's state-run Catholic church reportedly
ordained another bishop without the consent of the Vatican, which
stipulates ordinations can only go ahead with the Holy See's blessing.
"Joseph
Sun Jigeng was taken away by police on June 26 and he has not been
released," a member of the Handan Catholic church in northern China's
Hebei province told AFP by phone.
"On June 29, we had planned to
have the ordination ceremony, but the police have blocked the road and
no ceremony can be held. Police said it was an 'illegal activity'," said
the church member, who refused to be named.
But the Chinese
Patriotic Catholic Association (CPCA) -- which controls the state-backed
church -- denied Sun, 43, had been detained when contacted by AFP,
while police in Handan refused to comment.
The Vatican and China
have not had formal diplomatic ties since 1951, when the Holy See
angered Mao Zedong's Communist government by recognising the Nationalist
Chinese regime in Taiwan as the legitimate government of China.
But
as China's Catholic population has grown in recent years, the two sides
have warmed to each other, although Beijing's insistence in overriding
Vatican authority in approving bishops has cast a shadow over improved
ties.
Last week, the Beijing-backed church said it wanted to ordain at least 40 bishops "without delay".
On
Wednesday, Paul Lei Shiyin was ordained without Vatican approval as the
bishop of Leshan in a ceremony held in southwest China's Sichuan
province, the Vatican-linked AsiaNews website reported.
Liu Bainian, deputy head of the CPCA, confirmed Lei's ordination but was noncommittal about Vatican approval.
"We have not contacted the Vatican on this, but I think they know it. I'm not sure whether they agreed to this or not," he said.
China's
5.7 million Catholics are caught between staying loyal to the ruling
Communist Party or showing allegiance to the pope as part of an
"underground" Church not recognised by the authorities.