Vatican secretary of state hosting meeting on church in China

(19 Jan. 2007) : A two-day meeting between the Roman Curia officials and Chinese Catholics began on Friday in the Vatican, chaired by the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, to discuss the situation of the Church in China. The participants include both leading Vatican officials and Asian prelates including Cardinals Joseph Zen of Hong Kong and Paul Shan, the retired Bishop of Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Vatican spokesman, Fr. Federico Lombardi said, Pope Benedict XVI might meet the participants, but that he would not attend their working sessions.

The meeting is focusing on the situation created by the 2006 ordinations of three bishops without Vatican consent. The contested ordinations appeared to surprise the Vatican because in 2005 several new Chinese bishops chosen by the Vatican received government approval. In some of those ordinations, a papal bull expressing approval was read at the ordination. The patriotic association was formed by the government in 1957 to assure Catholics' harmony with state policies and to separate the church from "foreign interference," especially from its ties with the Vatican. Although initially bishops elected and ordained by members of the patriotic association did not have Vatican approval, in the mid-1980s bishops began secretly seeking such approval. Church sources say the Vatican now recognizes as legitimate as many as 90 percent of the bishops in the government-approved church. The current meeting would pave the way for the establishment of a permanent Vatican commission to oversee Chinese affairs.