China said on Tuesday it opposed outside interference in its internal affairs after the Vatican expressed concern about a Chinese bishop it said had been "removed". The Vatican said in a statement on Monday it was "observing with grave concern the personal situation of Bishop Peter Shao Zhumin of Wenzhou, forcibly removed from his episcopal see some time ago". The government has not publicly commented on where the bishop might be or what has happened to him. One obstacle to better ties is the question of who should make senior clerical appointments in China. The two sides have been at loggerheads since the expulsion of foreign missionaries from China after the Communists took power in 1949.

Source: dna June 27, 2017 14:26 UTC