China vows more ‘friendly consensus’ amid Vatican complaints

BEIJING (AP) — Beijing and the Vatican are once again tangling over the prickly issue of appointing Chinese bishops. After complaints from the Vatican that Beijing was violating a 2018 accord, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Monday said the country is willing to expand the “friendly consensus” achieved with the Vatican over bishop nominations. The Vatican issued an unusually harsh statement Saturday complaining that Beijing on Nov. 24 had installed Bishop John Peng Weizhao as an auxiliary bishop in the province of Jiangxi, which the Vatican doesn’t recognize as a diocese. China and the Vatican haven’t had diplomatic relations since 1951, following the Communists’ rise to power. The Vatican has sought in recent years to open contacts and reduce frictions.