Vatican City, Apr 13, 2011 / 16:05 pm
The Vatican has confirmed that Paul Liang Jiansen has been ordained as bishop of the Chinese city of Jiangmen. That’s the first such ordination in China since relations between the communist state and the Holy See broke-down last year.
There had been a degree of confusion as it had not been listed in the official bulletin of the Holy See’s Press Office, the usual means of notification.
A spokesman for the Holy See, Father Ciro Benedettini, explained to CNA how the Church deals with China.
“There’s a special section in the Secretariat of State overseeing the Church there rather than going through the Congregation of Bishops or Propaganda Fide," he said. "It’s a form of protection. China has special treatment. Sometimes the news isn’t given of a new bishop’s ordination and sometimes it is. But if it is, it’s always done through L’Osservatore Romano.”