Shanghai bishop installed; auxiliary under house arrest (Fides)

At this installation in Shanghai, Bishop Shen Bin—who was installed as Bishop of Shanghai without Vatican approval—promised to uphold “the fine tradition of patriotism” and the “sinicization of Catholicism in China.”

Only about 200 people attended the bishop’s installation, despite invitations sent to all Catholic clergy. The Chinese faith appear reluctant to accept the new bishop, who has been a leader in the government-approved Council of Chinese Bishops.

Meanwhile Bishop Thaddeus Ma Daqin, who was ordained as an auxiliary in Shanghai in 2012, has been under house arrest for a decade. Bishop Ma Daquin had been ordained with the approval of both the Holy See and the Chinese regime. But on the day of his ordination he repudiated the Catholic Patriotic Association, and was promptly suspended from ministry by the government-backed body. He has apparently been confined to a seminary in Shanghai since that time; the faithful have not seen him.