Biretta tip to Argent for this alarming story from China… o{]:¬\ who in turn got it from AsiaNews. Read this and think about whether the PRC is really interested in proper relations wtih the Catholic Church.
Rome (AsiaNews) – A bishop abducted by the Religious Affairs Bureau to force him to participate in an Episcopal ordination not sanctioned by the Holy See was able to escape and is now in hiding until the ritual is performed. Mgr Li Liangui of Cangzhou (Xianxian) was detained along with Mgr Peter Feng Xinmao, bishop of Hengshui, and taken to Xuzhou (Jiangsu) to take part in the ordination of Fr Wang Renlei as bishop.
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The Episcopal ordination took place without the approval of the Holy See anyway. In Xuzhou’s Sacred Heart Cathedral, Fr Wang Renlei, 36, became an auxiliary bishop of the diocese in a ceremony celebrated at 8 am.
However, there were some glitches in the event. Mgr Qian Yurong, 94, the bishop of the diocese, who was supposed to preside over the ordination, remained seated throughout the ceremony.
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Read the whole story.
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I’m a new catholic so please bear with me; the terminology is confusing. When you say “episcopal ordination” it makes me think “Episcopal Church”, as in the US version of Anglicans. I think you mean something else here. Can you clarify?
It just means “the ordination of a bishop” — in this case, a schismatic, illicit ordination.
The whole ceremony was a travesty and a mockery, and carries no legal force in the Catholic Church. The Church may decide to recognise this bishop after the fact, but she us under no obligation to do so. This is a criminal act that carries with it an automatic excommunication ffor the man who received illicit ordination (although probably not for the bishops forced to participate in the consecration, since they probably did so against their will, under duress).
Episcopus is the Latin word for “bishop,” if that helps to clarify.
Got it, thanks very much.