A bishop in China has been ordained without the permission of Pope Francis and the Vatican in Rome.
Vatican-approved bishop Casimirus Wang Milu ordained Dong Guan Hua to the priesthood without Holy See sanctioning first.
It is alleged that Bishop Milu is mentally unstable.
In China Catholicism is split into churches approved and monitored by the government and those which reject government supervision.
The Vatican has said it is aiming to foster better relations with Beijing, in a hope to achieve greater freedom for their church there.
Bishop Miru and Fr Hua are part of Clandestine Church, which is part of the wider Catholic Church in China. It is an underground church which refuses to monitored by the government.
Fr Hua had previously been excommunicated by the Bishop of Zhengding, Julius Jia Zhiguo, and says he is excommunicated again after what he perceives to be an unsanctioned, false ordination to bishophood.
Tense relations between the Holy See and China have began to thaw in recent years.
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