A letter by Pope Benedict XVI to the Catholics of China is nearly complete, according to Italy's ANSA news service.In January, at the conclusion of a special 2-day meeting on the situation facing the Church in China, Vatican officials announced that the Pope would be writing to the faithful in that country.
In February, Cardinal Joseph Zen of Hong Kong told the AsiaNews service that the Pope's letter would be a carefully phrased message, addressing the tensions between the Church and the government, which has sought to establish Communist Party control over the Chinese Church.
Cardinal Zen had predicted that the letter would be released around Easter time.
ANSA now reports that the Pope's letter will address the prospects for normalization of relations between the Holy See and Beijing, and the need for religious freedom within the country.
The Pope will speak directly about the episcopal consecrations that have been coordinated by the Catholic Patriotic Association in defiance of the Vatican, ANSA says.
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No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.
The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.
Sotto Voce