Holy Father inists on his right to ordain Bishops

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Benedict XVI insisted Saturday on his right to ordain bishops as he consecrated a Chinese prelate in an implicit challenge to attempts by China's official church to ordain bishops without his approval.

Monsignor Savio Hon Tai-Fai, a 60-year-old Hong Kong prelate recently named to the No. 2 spot in the Vatican's missionary office, was one of five bishops ordained by Benedict in St. Peter's Basilica.His elevation comes amid a new low point in relations between the Holy See and Beijing over the Chinese state-backed church's ordination of bishops without papal consent.

Newly ordained bishop Monsignor Savio Hon Tai-Fai, a 60-year-old Salesian prelate from Hong Kong, right, receives a blessing by Pope Benedict XVI during a ceremony in St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican, Saturday, Feb. 5, 2011

Holy Father did not refer specifically to China in his homily but insisted in general on the duty and need for the pope to name bishops to ensure apostolic succession. He said one of the key jobs of a bishop is to ensure that there is an "uninterrupted chain of communion" with the apostles.

Hon was recently appointed to head the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. He has said he hopes to be a bridge between Rome and Bejing and that his high-profile appointment was a sign of the pope's love for China.

Liu Bainian, spokesman for the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, congratulated Bishop Hon on his new appointment and said there was no need for him to be a bridge since the Vatican and China already had a dialogue.

But in an interview with The Associated Press in Beijing, he said the church could improve relations between the two by respecting what he said were two conditions put forward by the Chinese government: "First, to sever the so-called diplomatic ties with Taiwan and recognize the People's Republic of China as the sole legitimate government. Second, do not interfere in China's internal affairs, including in the naming of bishops," he said.

Antony Liu Bainian

The Vatican has said it is ready "at any time" to switch its diplomatic relations from Taipei to Beijing. Liu said Hon could help improve Sino-Vatican ties. "Bishop Hon is a Chinese citizen and has the responsibility to build the socialist country with Chinese characteristics together with the Chinese people and make contributions to the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation," he said.