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 ›

Catholic news portal AsiaNews.it reports that the ordination of a Vatican-approved bishop, Father Peter Luo Xuegang (罗雪刚), will take place tomorrow in the diocese of Yibin in Sichuan province. But here's where it gets tricky -- while the consecrating bishop on paper is the 95-year-old Msgr. John Chen Shizhong, a bishop from the diocese who is in communion with the Vatican, China may want Paul Lei Shiyin, the recently installed bishop of Leshan who is now president of the Catholic Patriotic Association, to take part in the laying on of hands. The participation of Lei, who was excommunicated by the Holy See in July, could render the ordination of the new bishop "illegitimate" according to Vatican rules. more ›

American journalist Paul Mooney has written a most fascinating, must-read article on the current state of relations between China and the Vatican in the South China Morning Post. more ›

Eric Fish of Sinostand has a funny and oh-so-true piece on why the Roman Catholic Church and the Chinese Communist Party are really just estranged brothers in disguise. The two really have more in common than you think, so why aren't they better friends? 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 ›

More good news for Sino-Vatican ties following the ordination of Bishop Paul Liang Jiansen? more ›

A new Catholic bishop approved by both the Vatican as well as the state-approved church has been consecrated in the city of Jiangmen, Guangdong Province. more ›

If we know one thing about China, it's that it likes to do things it's own way. It won't reign in a rogue tyrannical nation just because you ask, it will set up it's own peace prize if it doesn't agree with your choice, and it will go about ordaining it's own Catholic priests too - sorry, Vatican. more ›

Better days ahead for Sino-Vatican relations? 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.