Unapproved bishop elected to top China job
Published Date: December 9, 2010
By ucanews.com reporter, Hong Kong
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Bishop John Fang Xingyao of Linyi, new head of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association |
A bishop who does not have papal approval was today elected president of the Bishops’ Conference of the Catholic Church in China (BCCCC) while a Vatican-approved bishop became head of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (CCPA).
The
pope’s letter of 2007 indicates that holding the CCPA position was incompatible to Church doctrine.
Bishop Joseph Ma Yinglin of Kunming, 45, who was ordained in 2006 and still has not received papal approval, was elected BCCCC president by 312 votes for and one abstention on the last day of the
Eighth National Congress of Catholic Representatives.