Vatican to Sign Deal with China Amid Crackdown
The Chinese government has intensified its crackdown on religion as President Xi Jinping seeks to...
Sep 17, 2018
The Chinese government has intensified its crackdown on religion as President Xi Jinping seeks to...
Oct 7, 2017
The Chinese government’s unauthorized appointment of Catholic bishops has been a major point...
Jul 15, 2016
Talks are underway between the Vatican and Beijing to secure an agreement involving the selection...
Aug 15, 2014
The Vatican and Beijing have been on uneasy terms since the Communist Party came to power in 1949....
Mar 14, 2013
The relationship between Beijing and the Vatican is a tense one. While the Vatican has been criticized by China for its ties to Taiwan, Beijing’s “illicit ordination” of Catholic bishops has been a cause for...
Dec 8, 2007
From Reuters: The Dalai Lama said on Friday he was sorry he could not see Pope Benedict during a 10-day visit to Italy in which most politicians have shied away from meeting him. China sees the Dalai Lama’s world wanderings as a serious diplomatic offence and the Chinese ambassador to Italy called on politicians not […]
Sep 12, 2005
From the International Herald Tribune: In a setback for Pope Benedict XVI‘s efforts to improve its official ties with China, the authorities in Beijing have rejected a Vatican invitation to four Chinese Catholic bishops to attend a church conference in Rome… A spokesman for China’s official Catholic church, the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, and the […]
May 13, 2005
From AP: Pope Benedict XVI sent a veiled message to China on Thursday, inviting countries that don’t have diplomatic relations with the Vatican to establish ties soon in a move that could complicate the Holy See’s relations with Taiwan. The pontiff didn’t name the countries he was reaching out to, saying only that he appreciated […]
Apr 19, 2005
From CBC News: Just hours after Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was named Pope Benedict XVI, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said Beijing is willing to improve the relationship between China and the Vatican on two conditions. One is that the Vatican break off diplomatic relations with Taiwan and recognize the government in Beijing and that Taiwan […]
Apr 17, 2005
From AP, via the Guardian: Pope John Paul II once wrote to China’s president and never stopped dreaming of a papal visit to China, Hong Kong’s bishop recalled in an interview published Sunday. Bishop Joseph Zen said John Paul sent a personal letter to President Jiang Zemin after the Chinese were outraged by sainthood granted […]
Apr 9, 2005
From AP, via The Washington Post: Thousands of Chinese Catholics attended services for Pope John Paul II in Shanghai on Saturday, despite the Chinese government’s refusal to forge ties with the Vatican. “Our pope loved China and loved the Chinese church,” Bishop Aloysius Jin Luxian said at a memorial mass at Shanghai’s St. Ignatius Cathedral, […]
Apr 7, 2005
From Bloomberg: China’s government said it won’t send any representatives to tomorrow’s funeral of Pope John Paul II and said Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian’s planned trip to the Vatican is a separatist move. “Under current circumstances, China won’t send representatives to the Vatican,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said today at a regular press briefing […]
Apr 6, 2005
From the New York Times: China’s 12 million Catholics are mourning the death of John Paul II, but his passing is also a reminder of an unfinished legacy: the division of Chinese Catholics from the rest of the church, and from each other. Indeed, if John Paul II helped bring down Communism in Eastern Europe, […]
Apr 4, 2005
From AFP: China’s web portals have blocked prayers, blessings and other comment on the death of Pope John Paul II from being posted on the Internet, officials said. While popular portals such as Sina.com and Sohu.com‘s on-line discussion forums were flooded with messages about the pope Saturday, no messages could be seen Monday.
Apr 3, 2005
Thanks to David Cowhig for sending this translation of a report from sina.com: The PRC Foreign Ministry spokesperson, in answering a journalists questions about whether there would be a condolences telegram from China, how does China evaluate Pope John Paul II and what hopes does China have for the next pope? PRC MOFA spokesperson Liu […]
Apr 2, 2005
[UPDATED] From AP, via Netscape News: The Vatican said Saturday that Chinese authorities have carried out a new series of arrests of officials from that country’s non-government controlled Catholic Church. Update: See also, “China concerned by Pope’s condition” in the Daily Telegraph and “News of Pope’s Death Moves Slowly in China” from the AP.