China Appoints Vatican-Friendly Bishop

Andy Wong

New Catholic bishop Joseph Li Shan, center, is followed by Catholic members after the installation ceremony at a Catholic Church in Beijing, China on Friday.

China's state-controlled Catholic Church installed on Friday a bishop of Beijing that is well-regarded by the Vatican in a move aimed at easing decades of strained relations with the Holy See.

Joseph Li Shan, 42, was appointed to the influential post in China's capital at a ceremony at the city's 400-year-old Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception attended by several hundred priests, nuns, officials and ordinary Chinese Catholics who were given invitations by the Beijing diocese.

He took a traditional oath of service to the church that also added a nod to government authority. He promised to "lead all the priests seminarians and nuns of this diocese in adhering to the nation's constitution, maintaining national unification and social stability."

Dozens of uniformed police officers were positioned around the church, controlling access and keeping foreign journalists from entering the cathedral. Despite the security, the ceremony drew little public attention, with Catholics numbering more than 60,000 among Beijing's 15 million people.

Li replaces Bishop Fu Tieshan, a Communist Party supporter and hard-liner toward the Vatican whose death in April provided an opportunity for the state-controlled church and Rome for rapprochement. When Li was named as Fu's replacement in July, Vatican officials praised him, though said Beijing had not consulted Rome before his appointment.

While publicly the Vatican did not comment on Li's installation, in recent days church officials have said it was done with Vatican approval.

The appointment of bishops has long been a sticking point in the difficult relations between the Vatican and Beijing over the past half-century. The communist government dislikes groups that operate outside its control and has refused to yield authority over bishop's appointments, while the Vatican is loath to concede its traditional right to appoint church leaders.

Despite that, with the Vatican eager for greater access to China - where religious belief is booming alongside the economy – and Beijing keen for greater legitimacy worldwide, both sides have searched for a compromise.

Strains with the Vatican date to 1952 when the communist government, just three years in power, demanded Chinese Catholics cut ties to Rome. Banned for much of the 1960s and '70s when all religion was outlawed, the church has made a rapid recovery in the past 20 years, boasting about 12 million to 15 million followers.

In recent months, Li has been praised by both the Vatican and Beijing as concerned with the welfare of the church and being open-minded.

Since becoming pope last year, Pope Benedict has made several attempts to reach out to Beijing, especially in a June 20 letter urging the Communist leadership to permit more religious freedom and restore diplomatic ties with the Vatican.

China has not directly responded to the letter, something Lam said was a positive indication.

"At least they haven't criticized it," Lam said.

From NPR reports and The Associated Press