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Den Hellige Stol har lørdag den 2. desember publisert en kommentar til den ikke-abbroberte bispeordinasjonen av p. John Wang Renlei, som fant sted i Xuzhou i Kina den 30. november.
I uttalelsen slås det fast at Den Hellige Far mottok nyheten om ordinasjonen, som fant sted uten Vatikanets godkjennelse, med stor sorg. Den minner om at dette er en av flere ikke-approberte ordinasjoner som har "skapt splittelse i bispedømmer og plaget mange geistliges og troendes samvittighet." Ordinasjonene, som av Vatikanet betegnes som "ekstremt alvorlige handlinger", er "en frukt og konsekvens av et syn på Kirken som ikke korresponderer med katolsk lære og undergraver de fundamentale prinsipper om hennes hierarkiske struktur."
Videre heter det i uttalelsen at "den illegitime bispeordinasjonen er en så alvorlig handling objektivt sett, at kirkeretten definerer streng straff for dem som tildeler eller mottar den, gitt at handlingen ble utført av sann fri vilje (jfr. kanon 1382 paragraf 1)."
Den Hellige Stol presiserer at den "kjenner til den åndelige krise og lidelse blandt geislige, konsekrerte biskoper og ordinander, som kjenner seg tvunget til å delta i illegitime bispeordinasjoner, og med det bryte den katolske tradisjon som de, i sine hjerter, trofast ønsker rå følge."
Vatikanets kommentar avsluttes slik:
"Med tanke på disse bispeordinasjonene kan ikke Den Hellige Stol akseptere å bli stilt overfor en 'fait accompli.' Derfor beklager den dypt de prosedyrer som ble fulgt ved ordinasjonen av p. Wang Renlei i Xuzhou, og håper at hendelser som dette ikke vil gjentas i fremtiden."
Her følger hele uttalelsen i engelsk oversettelse:
"The Holy Father learned the news with great sadness, because this episcopal ordination was conferred without the pontifical mandate, in other words without respecting the discipline of the Catholic Church concerning the appointment of bishops (cf. canon 377 para. 1 of the Code of Canon Law).
"That of Xuzhou is just the latest - in order of time - of the illegitimate episcopal ordinations which have been afflicting the Catholic Church in China for a number of decades, creating divisions in diocesan communities and tormenting the consciences of many ecclesiastics and faithful. This extremely grave series of acts, which offend the religious sentiments of all Catholics in China and the rest of the world, is the fruit and consequence of a vision of the Church that does not correspond to Catholic doctrine and undermines the fundamental principles of her hierarchical structure. Indeed, as Vatican Council II makes clear, 'one is constituted a member of the episcopal body in virtue of sacramental consecration and hierarchical communion with the head and members of the body'."
"The Holy See, having learned only at the last minute of the planned episcopal ordination in the diocese of Xuzhou, did not fail to take the steps possible in the brief time available in order to prevent an act that would have produced a fresh laceration in ecclesial communion. In fact, an illegitimate episcopal ordination is an act objectively so serious that Canon Law lays down severe penalties for those who confer or receive it, assuming the act was carried out in conditions of true freedom (cf. canon 1382 para. 1 of the Code of Canon Law).
"It is a consolation to note that, despite past and present difficulties, almost the entirety of bishops, priests, religious and lay people in China, conscious of their status as living limbs of the Universal Church, have maintained a profound communion of faith and of life with Peter's Successor and with all Catholic communities around the world.
"The Holy See is aware of the spiritual crisis and suffering of those ecclesiastics - consecrating bishops and ordinands - who find themselves compelled to be an active part of illegitimate episcopal ordinations, thus contravening the Catholic tradition which, in their hearts, they would like to follow faithfully. The Holy See also shares the interior disquiet of those Catholics - priests, religious and laity - who find themselves obliged to accept a pastor whom they know is not in full hierarchical communion with the head of the College of Bishops or with other bishops around the world.
"As regards these episcopal ordinations, the Holy See cannot accept being faced with a 'fait accompli.' Therefore, it deplores the procedure with which the ordination of Fr. Wang Renlei in Xuzhou was carried out, and hopes that incidents of this kind will not be repeated in the future."
Vatican Information Service / KI-Katolsk Informasjonstjeneste (Oslo) (4. desember 2006)