For the first time since brokering a controversial deal with China on the appointment of bishops four years ago, the Vatican Saturday called out Beijing for violating the terms of the accord by installing a bishop in a diocese not recognised by Rome.

John Peng Weizhao had been clandestinely appointed bishop of the papally recognized Diocese of Yujiang by Pope Francis in 2014, four years before the Vatican struck its provisional agreement with China in 2018.

However, on Nov. 24 he joined state-sanctioned Chinese Catholic organisations in a ceremony marking his installation as auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Jiangxi, which is an ecclesiastic territory approved by Chinese authorities but not recognised by Rome.

In a Nov. 26 statement, the Vatican said they learned of Peng Weizhao’s installation with “with surprise and regret,” saying the Chinese diocese of Jiangxi is “not recognised by the Holy See.”

The Vatican said they had also received information stating that Peng Weizhao’s civil recognition was preceded “by long and heavy pressure from the local authorities”, and expressed hope that similar episodes will not be repeated.