The Chinese government broke diplomatic ties with the Vatican in 1951. The Holy See recognizes Taiwan.
Catholics have since only been allowed to worship in the state-sanctioned church and Beijing insists on having a say in appointing bishops -- a condition that is unacceptable to the Vatican.
Sino-Vatican relations have been further strained since the pope canonized 120 martyrs in China on October 1, 2000.
Besides the official government-approved Catholic church, China also has an underground church, which is loyal to the Vatican and is believed to have millions of followers.
RSS