Benedict XVI will write a letter to Chinese Catholics

Pope Benedict XVI will soon send a letter to all Catholics of China. This was announced on January 20 by the press service of the Holy See, which published the commander of the two-day meeting of Catholic hierarchs on the problem of relations with China.

The document does not disclose the content of the future letter of the pope, but reports on the readiness of the Vatican to "overcome the misunderstanding of the past" and normalize the relationship with Beijing, the Blagovers-Info reports with reference to Zenit .

The meeting, which was chaired by the Secretary of State of Vatican Tarchizio Berton, was attended by the Higher Hierarchs of the Roman Kuria, the leader of the Catholics of Hong Kong Cardinal Iosif Zen, as well as clergy from Taiwan and Macau. Benedict XVI did not participate in the meeting, but accepted some of its participants and announced his intention to write a message to Chinese believers.

The meeting participants discussed "the most serious and urgent church problems awaiting solutions and relating to the fundamental principles of the constitution of the church and religious freedom" - we are talking about the papa authority not recognizing the official Catholics and the persecution of the underground (faithful to Rome) Catholics. The meeting participants also “with deep gratitude” noted ”the certificate of bishops, priests and believers, who, without compromising, retain fidelity to the throne of St. Peter,” and the fact that by now “almost all” the Chinese bishops have restored communication with the Vatican.