New bishop appointed with Vatican approval

BEIJING (AP):

China has ordained a new Catholic bishop approved by the Vatican for the first time since ties between the sides soured last year, according to church figures.

Paul Liang Jiansen was made bishop of the southern city of Jiangmen on March 30, people with ties to the church in Hong Kong and mainland China said on condition of anonymity. They said Vatican officials had assented to the ordination before it took place.

China and the Vatican have no official relations and have long sparred over the Holy See's insistence on the right to appoint bishops. China's communist rulers forced Chinese Catholics to cut ties with Rome in 1951 and maintain that bishops be elected by members of the government-backed church.