Drama in the Catholic Church! In yet another display of clashes between China and the Vatican, an excommunicated bishop, as well as two others with questionable standing, were allowed to participate in China's first two ordination ceremonies of 2012 without papal approval. The Vatican is not pleased. more ›

Paul Lei Shiyin, the new bishop of Leshan installed by the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association without papal approval, has been excommunicated by the Holy See. In a strongly worded statement, the Vatican said, "Rev. Lei Shiyin, ordained without the Papal mandate and hence illegitimately, has no authority to govern the diocesan Catholic community, and the Holy See does not recognize him. The effects of the sanction which he has incurred through violation of the . . . Code of Canon Law remain in place... An episcopal ordination without Papal mandate is directly opposed to the spiritual role of the Supreme Pontiff and damages the unity of the Church." more ›

Pope Benedict offered special prayers for the Catholics in China who face severe constraints to practice their faith. He composed a prayer to Our Lady of Sheshan in Shanghai for the occasion and asked that Catholics all over the world observe May 24 as the "World Day of Prayer for the Church in China", an annual day of prayer observed every year since 2007. more ›

In his traditional Christmas Day "Urbi et Orbi" homily this year, Papa Ratzi aka Pope Benedict XVI prayed for Chinese Catholics with the following words: more ›

Photo from fateless_gypsy more ›

Shanghai Scrap brought us an interesting tidbit over the weekend on the results of the Pope's landmark letter to Chinese Catholics released a year ago on June 30, 2007. The Union of Catholic Asian News (UCAN) reports that the Pope's call for reconciliation between "underground" and "open" Catholic communities has seen some positive results. UCAN cites open and underground priests engaging in dialogue with each other, and Shanghai Scrap's Adam Minter points out a significant development in Tianjin, where more underground Catholics are attending Masses in Xikai Cathedral, a cathedral where open-Church priests preside. Underground Tianjin Catholics previously refused to enter the cathedral and instead chose to pray at the Marian grotto outside. Minter regards the Tianjin situation as exemplary in explaining the misuse of the term "underground" Catholics:

the mere use of the term “underground” is misleading, as it suggests a community of believers who meet - and exist - in secret. But, in today’s China, nothing could be further from the truth... Just to be clear: the open Catholics pray inside the cathedral, the underground Catholics pray outside the cathedral...if Tianjin’s underground Catholics were trying to remain “underground,” they couldn’t have chosen a more public place to do it.

... and so says the — surprise, surprise — China Daily! This most unlikely piece of news comes from the nation's favourite English paper shortly after we heard that China Philharmonic's been performing for the Pope:

Evangelist Franklin Graham said in Beijing on Friday that he wants his organizations to become more involved in China. more ›

AFP: Dalai Lama has committed 'monstrous crimes': China's state press more ›

With all the bad press surrounding Steven Spielberg's Olympic boycott, Beijing seems to be scrambling to action to diffuse all the negative publicity by wooing a most unlikely target, the Pope. From Michael Sheridan of the Sunday Times (UK):

TEMPTED by the prize of a historic visit to China by Pope Benedict XVI, the nation’s leaders have authorised a renewed effort in confidential discussions with the Vatican to heal their rift and inaugurate diplomatic ties. more ›