China ordains bishops in snub to Pope

Police officers in plainclothes looked on as the new bishops, dressed in flowing white robes with yellow braid, knelt to take their vows before a congregation of 300 in the Romanesque-style church which can hold up to 1,000.

Police officers were stationed on the snow-filled streets outside the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, still bedecked with Christmas decorations.

In the congregation were Communist Party `United front’ officials, nuns and priests, as well as ordinary worshipers.

China’s determination to go ahead in the face of blunt Vatican denunciations appeared to mark the breakdown of secret talks aimed at forging diplomatic relations, now stymied by the Vatican’s ties with Taiwan, a rebel province in Beijing’s eyes.

Although the ceremony followed Roman Catholic practice, the five bishops were picked by the patriotic Catholic Association, which is loyal to China’s atheist Communist rulers.