The ordination without papal approval of a bishop in China inflicted a "painful wound" on the Catholic Church, and government pressure on other bishops to participate in the ceremony was a "grave violation of freedom of religion and conscience," the Vatican said.
Under close surveillance from local government officials, Father Joseph Guo Jincai was ordained bishop of Chengde -- the first bishop ordained without papal approval in four years.
Eight bishops in communion with Pope Benedict XVI laid their hands on Father Guo, whose ordination was illicit in the eyes of the church. Some of the ordaining bishops had been detained by government officials in the days before the ordination in an effort to force them to participate, reported the Asian church news agency UCA News.
The Vatican, which waited until yesterday to make a statement because it was gathering information, said Pope Benedict "received the news with deep regret."
