China’s Plan for Bishops Seen as Snub

The Vatican assailed plans by China’s government-sanctioned church to ordain new bishops on the same day the pope will ordain bishops loyal to him, calling it a setback to efforts to normalize relations between the Holy See and Beijing. The Roman Catholic Missionary News Service and news reports from Beijing said the Patriotic Catholic Assn., the official name of the state-sanctioned church, planned to ordain three bishops Thursday in a move some described as a snub to Pope John Paul II. That same day, the Roman Catholic Church’s Feast of the Epiphany, the pope is scheduled to ordain nine bishops from Poland, Italy, the United States, Hungary, Angola, India and Romania in a ceremony in St. Peter’s Basilica.