Chinese Catholics reacted to an open letter from Pope Benedict XVI, which urged all Roman Catholics in China to unite under his authority, praising the underground faithful for their loyalty to Rome but saying they should reconcile with Catholics of the official state-run church.The 55-page letter, addressed to bishops, priests and lay faithful in China, was released on Saturday on the Vatican's Web site in English and Chinese.
It urged Beijing to restore diplomatic ties and permit religious freedom and called the state-run Catholic Church ''incompatible'' with Catholic doctrine.
''With the issuance of the Papal letter, from now on, as individuals, we should carry these intentions in our prayers,'' Father Zhao told his congregation at the Beijing North Cathedral on Sunday morning.
''As our Pope points out in the letter, we should pray for unity, solidarity and a common welfare - and the truth of the Catholic Church,'' he said.
''This is a warm invitation for the Chinese people to dedicate ourselves to solidarity on the basis of Patriotism, unity and truth,'' he added.
One member of the congregation, Mr Zhao said that there were ''no fundamental problems'' between China and the Vatican.
Another member of the congregation, Mrs Zhai said, ''If we can set up diplomatic ties, there won't be any kind of problem.''
China's Foreign Ministry on Saturday said it had ''taken note'' of the pope's letter but did not directly respond to its contents.
Spokesman Qin Gang said in a statement posted to the ministry's Web site that China ''has always advocated the improvement of Sino-Vatican relations and made positive efforts to this end.''Qin said China would ''continue to have a frank, constructive dialogue with the Vatican in order to resolve differences between the two sides.''
The statement called on the Vatican to sever ties with rival Taiwan and not interfere in Beijing's internal affairs in the name of religion.''We hope that the Vatican take practical action and does not create new barriers,'' Qin said, without elaborating.
China forced its Roman Catholics to cut ties with the Vatican in 1951, shortly after the officially atheist Communist Party took power.
Worship is allowed only in the government-controlled churches, which recognise the pope as a spiritual leader but appoint their own priests and bishops.
Benedict's letter said the Vatican was ready to move its diplomatic representation from Taiwan to Beijing ''at any time'' and announced it had dropped the 1988 guideline that said any bishop ordained by the state-backed Chinese church would incur an automatic excommunication.
However, it also called the Patriotic Association ''incompatible with Catholic doctrine'' because it named its own bishops and sought to guide the life of the church.
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