China stands ground against Vatican bishop demand

BEIJING, May 9 (Reuters) China today said the Vatican's demand to control the appointment of Chinese Catholic bishops stands in the way of improved ties, offering no sign of concessions in the dispute that has erupted in recent weeks.

Pope Benedict last week censured China for recently installing two bishops without Vatican approval, threatening an understanding that such appointments needed papal blessing. The Vatican said China pressured Chinese bishops to take part in the ceremonies, calling the step a violation of religious freedom.

But a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Liu Jianchao, laid blame for the quarrel at the Vatican's door.

''There's no issue of the Chinese government meddling in religious affairs,'' Liu told a regular news briefing in Beijing.

Liu said China ''sincerely'' wanted to improve ties, but the Vatican's criticisms were ''seriously out of step with the Vatican's statements that it wants to improve China-Vatican relations''.

Beijing and the Vatican severed ties after the 1949 Communist takeover in China and subsequent crackdown on religion. The Vatican now maintains diplomatic ties with Taiwan, the self-ruled island China claims as its own.

China has 10 million or more Catholics, but they are divided between a government-recognised church and an ''underground'' church that rejects Communist Party influence and remains loyal to the Pope alone.

The Vatican has indicated it may cut ties with Taiwan, but China and the Vatican are locked in disagreement over the church's independence, especially which side can select bishops.

The Vatican says Chinese bishops should be appointed by it and work without the oversight of the government-run Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association.

But China says it wants the final say.

Liu said China's state-controlled Catholic Church had informed the Vatican of its recent selection of bishops but received no ''positive response''.

On Sunday, China consecrated a US-trained priest as an assistant bishop with Vatican approval.

China is willing to continue negotiations with the Vatican on improving ties and eventually establishing diplomatic relations, but China's state-controlled Catholic Church would choose its own bishops, the spokesman said.

''We hope the Vatican will stop interfering in domestic Chinese affairs,'' Liu said, noting that China's government-recognised church has chosen over 170 of its own bishops since it formed in the 1950s.

REUTERS OM KN1616