BEIJING - CHINA'S state-run Catholic church installed a new Vatican-approved bishop, officials said, after a delay triggered when the cleric publicly voiced his allegiance to the Holy See.
Reverend Joseph Gan Junqiu, 42, was ordained in the Sacred Heart Cathedral of the southern city of Guangzhou on Tuesday morning, said Mr Liu Bainian, vice-head of the government China Catholic Patriotic Association.
'Gan Junqiu is replacing Lin Bingliang who died some time ago,' Mr Liu said. 'He is the bishop of the Guangzhou diocese.'
According to the website of the Rome-based AsiaNews, a news portal reporting on Catholicism in the region, Rev Gan was elected by his diocese on November 2006 and his ordination has been approved by the Holy See.
But delays over his ordination ceremony have stemmed from concerns by the government association that surfaced after Rev Gan publicly pledged allegiance to the Vatican, the website said.
The Holy See has long been at odds with China's communist-run church over the appointment of bishops, but in recent months Beijing has appeared willing to appoint church leaders that have the blessing of the pope.
Such a situation has come as the Vatican has worked to reestablish its relations with China where Catholicism has boomed over the last decades.
The Vatican and China severed ties in 1951 in anger over the Holy See's diplomatic recognition of Taiwan.
In 1957, China set up the Patriotic Association, which formally oversees China's officially registered Catholics, estimated at numbering about five million, and growing.
According to AsiaNews, Rev Gan has been in charge of the Guangzhou diocese since 2001 and maintains good relations with both the Vatican and the state-run church.
Rev Gan 'is known to be an intelligent pastor, faithful to the pope, committed to the evangelisation of the youth and aiding the poor', the website said.
'He also has good relations with the government, who collaborated in the restoration of Guangzhou cathedral, dedicated to the Sacred Heart and re-opened to the public last February.' -- AFP
Hope it goes smoothly, and that ties will continue to improve.
42 years old! That's young for a bishop!
May God help him administer his diocese wisely.