China's state-backed Catholic Church welcomed a newly announced Vatican initiative to repair its ruptured relationship with Beijing and said a promised letter from the pope to Chinese Catholics could be helpful.
Liu Bainian (劉柏年), the often hardline vice chairman of the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, struck a conciliatory tone in the wake of the Vatican's announced diplomatic foray.
"I hope and I also believe that the pope's letter will show his love of China's churches," Liu said in a telephone interview on Monday. "I am hopeful that it can improve Chinese-Vatican ties."
PHOTO: AP
The Vatican's announcement, made on Saturday after two days of high-level debate on China, said the Holy See sought a dialogue with the aim of restoring diplomatic relations with Beijing.
The announcement also said Pope Benedict XVI was preparing a message for Chinese Catholics.
The diplomatic initiative comes as China is experiencing a religious boom while the Vatican remains hobbled by a half-century-long dispute with Beijing.
China's government-backed Catholic Church refuses to recognize the Vatican's authority while many clergy and ordinary Catholics remain loyal to the pope and have been persecuted for it.
Participants in the Vatican's debate on China policy paid tribute to this "price of great suffering."
Liu glossed over the criticism, saying that the report also mentioned how fast the Chinese Church has grown in recent years -- proof, he said, that the Vatican recognized that China enjoyed religious freedom of belief.
The Vatican debate and the pope's promised letter caught the attention of Catholics at a church in Shijiazhuang, said Zhang Shijiang (
The two gestures would "certainly enhance dialogue and mutual trust and eliminate misunderstandings on both sides," Zhang said.
At the core of the Vatican's dispute with China are Taiwan and the appointment of bishops. The Vatican has indicated it is willing to downgrade relations with Taiwan, but Catholic Church tradition invests the pope with the authority to name bishops.
CHARGES: The former president, who maintains his innocence, was sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison for a failed coup bid, as well as an assassination plot Far-right former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro is running out of options to avoid prison, after judges on Friday rejected his appeal against a 27-year sentence for a botched coup bid. Bolsonaro lost the 2022 elections and was convicted in September for his efforts to prevent Brazlian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking power after the polls. Prosecutors said the scheme — which included plans to assassinate Lula and a top Brazilian Supreme Court judge — failed only due to a lack of support from military top brass. A panel of Supreme Court judges weighing Bolsonaro’s appeal all voted to uphold
The latest batch from convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s e-mails illustrates the extraordinary scope of his contacts with powerful people, ranging from a top Trump adviser to Britain’s ex-prince Andrew. The US House of Representatives is expected to vote this week on trying to force release of evidence gathered on Epstein by law enforcement over the years — including the identities of the men suspected of participating in his alleged sex trafficking ring. However, a slew of e-mails released this week have already opened new windows to the extent of Epstein’s network. These include multiple references to US President Donald
DISASTER: The Bangladesh Meteorological Department recorded a magnitude 5.7 and tremors reached as far as Kolkata, India, more than 300km away from the epicenter A powerful earthquake struck Bangladesh yesterday outside the crowded capital, Dhaka, killing at least five people and injuring about a hundred, the government said. The magnitude 5.5 quake struck at 10:38am near Narsingdi, Bangladesh, about 33km from Dhaka, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said. The earthquake sparked fear and chaos with many in the Muslim-majority nation of 170 million people at home on their day off. AFP reporters in Dhaka said they saw people weeping in the streets while others appeared shocked. Bangladesh Interim Leader Muhammad Yunus expressed his “deep shock and sorrow over the news of casualties in various districts.” At least five people,
Chinese tech giant Alibaba yesterday denied it helps Beijing target the US, saying that a recent news report was “completely false.” The Financial Times yesterday reported that Alibaba “provides tech support for Chinese military ‘operations’ against [US] targets,” a White House memo provided to the newspaper showed. Alibaba hands customer data, including “IP addresses, WiFi information and payment records,” to Chinese authorities and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, the report cited the memo as saying. The Financial Times said it could not independently verify the claims, adding that the White House believes the actions threaten US security. An Alibaba Group spokesperson said “the assertions
RSS