VATICAN CITY: The Vatican accused Chinese authorities of violating a bilateral pact on the appointment of bishops by installing one in a diocese not recognised by the Holy See on November 26.
A bishop of another city was installed as an auxiliary bishop in Jiangxi, according to a statement by the Vatican.
The unauthorised installation appeared to be one of the most serious violations of a 2018 agreement between the Vatican and Beijing on the appointment of bishops.
The accord, which some Catholics denounced as a sell-out to China's Communist authorities, was renewed last September for a two-year period. The statement said that Jiangxi was not recognised as a diocese by the Vatican, and that the installation did not conform to the spirit of dialogue that both sides had agreed to in 2018.
The statement said that the installation followed strong pressure from local authorities, but the Vatican was expecting an explanation from Chinese authorities and was hoping that the similar episodes would not be repeated.