Vatican says China has unilaterally appointed bishop to Shanghai

VATICAN CITY — Chinese authorities have appointed a new bishop to Shanghai, the Vatican said on Tuesday, in an apparent violation of a bilateral pact between the two states.

The Holy See was informed "a few days ago" of the decision by China to transfer Bishop Shen Bin from Haimen, in the Jiangsu province, to the diocese of Shanghai, the Vatican said.

It added that it had learned of his official installment earlier on Tuesday from the media.

"For the moment I have nothing to say about the Holy See's assessment of the matter," spokesman Matteo Bruni said.

The announcement came just four months after the Vatican accused China of violating its bilateral pact on the appointment of bishops by installing one in a diocese not recognized by the Holy See.

The contested, secret pact was renewed last October for the second time since 2018.

The deal was a bid to ease a longstanding divide across mainland China between an underground flock loyal to the Pope and a state-backed official church. For the first time since the 1950s, both sides recognized the Pope as supreme leader of the Catholic Church.

There was no immediate response from the Chinese embassy in Rome to the Vatican statement. — Reuters