THE POPE has expressed his “surprise and regret” at the reported installation on Saturday of Bishop Giovanni Peng Weizhao as Auxiliary Bishop of Jiangxi in China — an appointment not recognised by the Holy See.

A press statement from the Vatican on Saturday said that the installation “has not taken place in conformity with the spirit of dialogue that exists between the Vatican parties and the Chinese parties and what has been stipulated in the Provisional Agreement on the Appointment of Bishops of 22 September 2018”.

The agreement concerning the nomination of bishops provided for a two-year period of application ad experimentum, which was extended for two years in both October 2020 and October 2022.

The statement continued: “In addition, the civil recognition of Bishop Peng was preceded, according to reports received, by prolonged and intense pressure by the local authorities.

“The Holy See hopes that similar episodes will not be repeated, is awaiting the appropriate communication about the matter from the authorities, and reaffirms its complete willingness to continue the respectful dialogue concerning all of the matters of common interest.”

In an earlier wide-ranging interview with the US Roman Catholic America Magazine, last week, Pope Francis was asked about Vatican relations with Communist China. He denied that he had been silent on human-rights abuses in the country, saying that the situation was not a matter “speaking or silence” but whether “to dialogue or not to dialogue”.

He said: “Dialogue is the way of the best diplomacy. With China I have opted for the way of dialogue. It is slow, it has its failures, it has its successes, but I cannot find another way. And I want to underline this: the Chinese people are a people of great wisdom, and deserve my respect and my admiration.”