China on Saturday defended the ordination of Catholic bishops by Chinese believers while lashing out at Vatican, saying the latter's criticism on China in this regard "makes no sense."

"The Chinese government had recently informed the Vatican about ordaining bishops in some Chinese dioceses but received no straightforward responses from the latter," said a spokesman for the State Administration of Religious Affairs.

"On the contrary, the Vatican made unfounded charges after the successful ordination, a move that ran against the remarks of the Vatican hoping to improve its relationship with China," he noted.

On Thursday, the Vatican's spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls accused China of ordaining two Catholic bishops in the country and threatened to punish the bishops ordained and the believers who participated in the process.

"The remark by Navarro-Valls makes no sense," the Chinese spokesman said, noting that the selection and ordination of bishops by the Catholic churches in China had lasted for half a century.

"The selection and ordination of bishops in China are a need of Chinese Catholic churches to conduct normal church activities," he said.

China now has 97 dioceses, but more than 40 of them do not have bishops. In addition, most bishops are old. "The churches could not exist without bishops," the spokesman said.

The development of Catholicism in China called for the self-selection and ordination of bishops, he said, citing an incident in 1958. In that year, a list of bishop nominees from some Chinese dioceses was submitted to the Vatican, which not only rejected the list but also threatened to mete out "extraordinary punishment."

"The move deeply hurt Chinese believers and forced the Chinese Catholic churches to set off for a road of selecting and ordaining their own bishops," the Chinese spokesman said.

Over the past decades, Chinese Catholic churches have selected and ordained more than 170 bishops, who have made historic contributions to the gospel spreading in China, he said.

Official statistics show that there are more than 5 million Catholic believers in China. The figure was 2.7 million half a century ago.

Also on Saturday, the Catholic Patriotic Association of China and Chinese Catholic Bishops College issued a statement, saying that the selection and ordination of bishops fully reflected the wish of priests and believers and strictly followed Catholic traditions.

"Those bishops have solid faith and moral integrity," the statement said. "They are outstanding in theological achievement, personal morality and work capability. They have won extensive support and love from priests and believers."

The Church said it would continue to stick to the principle of independence and self-management when handling internal church affairs. "We will go ahead to spread the words of the Christ, serve the society and the people, and glorify God."

The Chinese Catholic Church also expressed the hope for earlier improvement of the relationship between China and the Vatican. "We will pray for it."

Differences remain between China and the Vatican on the ordinance of bishops. The Chinese government has proposed to the Vatican on putting aside the differences in a practical manner, said the spokesman for the State Administration of Religious Affairs. 

"The Chinese government is sincere in improving ties with the Vatican and has made unremitting efforts in this regard," he said.

China is willing to have a candid and constructive dialogue with the Vatican, he said.

"We hope the Vatican stops interfering in China's internal affairs, respects the common wish of Chinese Catholic churches and believers, and sets no more obstacles which affect China-Vatican relations," the spokesman said.

Editor: Yan