Pope backs Beijing's new state-approved bishop

By Chris Buckley

BEIJING (Reuters) - A state-approved Catholic bishop of Beijing was installed to applause from parishioners on Friday in a tightly orchestrated ceremony that was subsequently endorsed by the Vatican, in a sign of a thaw in relations.

Li Shan became bishop of the Chinese capital in a Mass that mixed pungent incense and soaring hymns with delicate evasion of whether his appointment was blessed by Pope Benedict.

But in a gesture that could help narrow long-standing disputes over religious control between the Vatican and Beijing, the official Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano said on Friday that Pope Benedict had given his backing to Li.

L'Osservatore said the Catholic congregations in Beijing and Guiyang, which also recently got a new bishop, Xiao Zejiang, had celebrated "on receiving news of the communion conceded by the Pope to Monsignor Xiao and Monsignor Li".

The Vatican's mouthpiece entrusted "these two young prelates and their dioceses to the protection of the Virgin Mary", but it noted "with regret that some bishops not in communion with the Holy See took part in the consecration rite".

China's 8 to 12 million Catholics are divided between a state-sanctioned church and an underground church wary of government ties.

Members of the state-approved church also honour the Pope, but the Communist-run government restricts formal contacts with Rome, which has had no diplomatic ties with Beijing since 1951.

Li's appointment has become a test of relations between the Catholic church and China at a time when Pope Benedict has urged better ties and also healing between divided believers, while demanding that the Vatican choose bishops, possibly with some government consultation.

Li made no mention of papal approval during his consecration, attended by dozens of bishops, priests and nuns and hundreds of lay Catholics who spilled out of the 400-year-old Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception southwest of Tiananmen Square.

He instead vowed to lead the city's faithful and also "protect the unity of the state and social stability and unity".

HOPES FULFILLED

But several priests and parishioners attending the ceremony said that they believed he had won quiet Vatican backing, underlining the importance they attach to the Pope's backing.

"Of course, Vatican approval is important for us," said parishioner Chang Shuhua. "I think he's been approved by both sides. That's most important, because it means then that he's a true follower of the apostles."

A senior Vatican official said this week that Li's appointment should be a "favorable step forward, a good occasion to build on something".

"It's widely said among the clergy that Li has indicated he is acting with the approval of the Pope," said a priest at the ceremony. "We can't know for sure, but we all hope that he does."