A Chinese bishop has threatened to bar lay Catholics from the sacraments if they do not recognize priests affiliated with the government-backed Patriotic Association.

Bishop Francis Shuxin of Baoding has instructed his priests to register with the Patriotic Association, noting that Vatican instructions have encouraged registration. Priests who do not register will be in violation of Chinese law, the bishop warned.

Priests who served in the “underground” Chinese Church are now under mounting pressure to join the Patriotic Association—an organization whose purposes Pope Benedict XVI condemned as incompatible with the Catholic faith.