China to Pope Francis: don’t ‘interfere’ with China’s religion as Christians persecution rises
China has not reacted positively to Pope Francis and the Vatican offering to open new dialogue and discuss the country’s religion. The official statement told Rome to not to “interfere” with the country’s religion,
Pope Francis I March 2013 photo by Casa Rosada via wikipedia
The Pope made the return home after a your of South Korea. He made the comment that he was ready to go China, “For sure! Tomorrow!” The Vatican had received a positive response to two goodwill telegrams which were sent to President Xi Jinping as the pope flew over Chinese airspace.
“We respect the Chinese people,” Francis told journalists on the return flight. “The church only asks for liberty for its task, for its work.”
“China will always safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity and it never allows foreign forces to interfere with religion. The Vatican should respect China in terms of the personnel of a diocese,” Liu Yuanlong, vice president of the association, told the state-run Global Times in a report also published in English.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs is unhappy with the Vatican’s diplomatic recognition of Taiwan, while the Vatican is unhappy with Beijing’s strict control of religious institutions, particularly the appointment of bishops.
China officials just rejected the final appeal of Christian pastor sentenced to 12=years in jail for “gathering a crowd to disrupt public order” and a fraud charge. Pastor Zhang Shaojie has battling the ruling with report of corruption and “mishandling of the first trial,” according to China aid in their Aug. 22 article.
A new article from the Telegraph documents the recent persecution of China’s Christians: ongoing demolition campaign targeting churches, the anti-church campaign resulted in bloodshed and unjust imprisonment of Christians.
The Vatican has not had diplomatic relations with China since 1951. The Catholic Church in China is divided between an “official” church known as the Catholic Patriotic Association, answerable to the Communist Party, and an underground church that swears allegiance to Rome.
