Three months after the installation of Bishop Joseph Shen Bin as bishop of Shanghai without Vatican approval, Pope Francis “appointed [him] as bishop of Shanghai, in continental China, transferring him from the diocese of Haimen,” in the words of the Vatican announcement.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Holy See’s Secretary of State, said that the Pope “decided to rectify the canonical irregularity” for the “greater good of the diocese,” even though the Chinese government’s decision to install the bishop in Shanghai earlier this year “seems to disregard the spirit of dialogue and collaboration established between the Vatican and the Chinese side over the years.”