The Vatican said on Thursday that the ordination earlier this week of two Chinese bishops without its approval was a ”serious violation of religious liberty”.
Vatican spokesperson Joaquin Navarro-Valls demanded that Chinese authorities respect the freedom and autonomy of the Roman Catholic church, which says it is the only body that can make such decisions.
In a strongly worded statement, the spokesperson said the ordinations had done ”serious injury to the unity of the church”. Bishops and priests had come under ”strong pressure and threats” to take part in the outlawed ordinations, he said.
The statement also warned that the offences carried the risk of ”severe canonical sanctions”.
”Bishops and priests have been subjected to strong pressure and threats from authorities outside of the church, so that they would take part in the Episcopal ordinations which, being without a pontifical mandate, are illegitimate,” Navarro-Valls said.
The Vatican statement said various clergy in China had resisted similar pressures, while others were forced to submit ”with great internal suffering. Espisodes of this kind produce wounds not only in the Catholic community, but also in the personal conscience of the person,” said Navarro-Valls.
”It is a serious violation of religious liberty” despite the ”pretext” that the ordinations of the two bishops were ”a dutiful act to provide a pastor to vacant dioceses”, he said. — AFP
