BEIJING, Sept. 12 (UPI) -- Beijing has banned Chinese bishops from attending an October synod in Rome, with state-controlled Catholic groups criticizing the Vatican for inviting a prelate from the underground church.
According to Monday's China Daily, the Chinese Catholic Bishops College and the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association expressed regret Sunday over the Vatican's naming of Chinese bishops who, they said, were unable to attend the synod in Rome.
The Vatican announced Thursday that Pope Benedict XVI invited four Chinese bishops to attend a synod in Rome on Oct. 2. Three of the invited prelates are from China's state-sanctioned church, but one, Giuseppe Wei Jingyi, bishop of Qiqihar in China's northeastern Heilongjiang province, is a member of the underground church not recognized by Beijing.
A spokesman for the CCBC and CPCA criticized the choice of invitees, saying, "The act goes against the original good intention of the pope and shows no respect for China's 5 million Catholics, bishops, the CCBC and CPCA, and also for the decision-making power of the two Chinese Catholic groups."
China and the Vatican do not have diplomatic relations, with the Catholic Church's recognition of Taiwan the major stumbling block. The Vatican has signaled it may switch diplomatic recognition to Beijing if issues such as China allowing Rome to appoint bishops can be resolved.
"In view of the facts that China must prevent activities pursuing 'two Chinas' or 'one China, one Taiwan' during the synod, and some of the Chinese bishops invited find it hard to attend the synod on account of advanced age and poor health, we (CCBC and CPCA) asked the Chinese government to deal with the matter through diplomatic channels," the spokesman said.
In the early 1950s the Chinese Communist government created nationalized "patriotic" religious groups, demanding they take orders from and be funded by Beijing rather than from abroad. China also has patriotic Protestant, Buddhist and Muslim associations.
