First bishop consecrated in China under Vatican deal

THE first bishop has been consecrated under the Provisional Agreement between the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China. Mgr Antonio Yao Shun was consecrated Bishop of Jining/Wulanchabu, Inner Mongolia, with the Papal Mandate, on Monday. The Agreement, signed in September 2018, states that, while the Chinese authorities will recommend bishops, they will be appointed by the Pope, who can also veto any recommendation. The Vatican also formally recognised eight bishops named by the Chinese government and previously excommunicated. The head of Asia News, Fr Bernard Cervellera, told the online newspaper Crux that the Vatican had already chosen Bishop Yao Shun “some time ago”.

Massacre synagogue finds home at church

THE Pittsburgh Tree of Life synagogue, where 11 people were killed in a mass shooting last year (News, 27 October 2018), will hold its Jewish High Holiday services this year at the neighbouring Calvary Episcopal Church, the Episcopal News Service reports. The synagogue will hold five days of services in late September and early October at the church. Several crosses will be covered up. “It’s exactly what we do in Lent,” the Rector, the Revd Jonathon Jensen, said. “We are not denying who we are as Christian people at all. . . We want to be as hospitable as possible. It’s like when somebody comes over for dinner: you find out what they like and don’t like to eat, and try to welcome them.”