Word: cervellera
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...official, state-sponsored "patriotic" church with Beijing-picked bishops, and an underground network of priests and parishioners loyal to the Pope. Increasingly, with local mediation and a softening from both Rome and Beijing, there is more cross-over among parishioners of the two churches. Indeed, says Father Bernardo Cervellera, editor of Asia News and a longtime China expert, the Pope's letter was aimed at "making clear in public that the Church is united, that the official and unofficial churches are related. This pushes all the communities in China to cooperate, which makes it more difficult to divide...
...Cervellera says that Beijing's response could have been much more hostile, as it was in 2000 when Pope John Paul II canonized several Catholic Chinese martyrs. The reaction this time, instead, was pro forma. Still, it's impossible to know Beijing's next moves on the questions of diplomatic relations with the Vatican, and religious freedom for Catholics - not even the Chinese know. "We cannot solve this problem," he said. "The problem is inside the Chinese Communist party, which is undergoing a radical transition...
...elevation to the papacy, Benedict has sought to repair ties so that those faithful can practice in the open. The goal was full diplomatic relations and possibly even a papal visit to China by 2008, when Beijing will be host of the Olympics. In recent years, says Father Bernardo Cervellera, director of the Rome-based Asia News Service, the Beijing church has quietly ceded to the Vatican's choices on bishops. Meanwhile, top church officials have floated the idea of breaking diplomatic ties with Taiwan, which Beijing considers a renegade province...
| 1 |