China’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday it hoped the Vatican could
acknowledge the reality of religious freedom in the country, after the
pope said Beijing was putting pressure on the faithful who want to
remain loyal to the Vatican.
“We hope the Vatican can squarely face the reality of religious
freedom in China and the continuous development of Chinese Catholics,
and take concrete actions to create conditions for developing
Sino-Vatican ties,” ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told a regular news briefing.
China’s 8 to 12 million Catholics are divided between the
state-sanctioned church that names bishops without the Vatican’s
approval and an underground church wary of government ties.
China
forced several bishops and priests loyal to the pope to attend a
meeting of the state-backed church last year, rankling the Vatican.
Pope Benedict has said China’s communist authorities were putting
pressure on faithful who want to remain loyal to the Vatican and he
hoped the Chinese church could survive attempts to divide it from Rome.
He called on Wednesday for all Catholics to pray for the faithful in
China, who are not allowed to recognise the pope’s authority but forced
to be members of a state-backed Church.
“We know that among our brother bishops, there are some that suffer and are under pressure,” the pope said at his weekly general audience in St Peter’s Square.
“By praying we can ensure that the Church in China remains one, holy and Catholic.”