Vatican City, Jun 29, 2007 / 08:32 am
The Vatican has announced that Benedict XVI’s long awaited letter to Catholics in China will be released on Saturday at noon. The letter is part of the Holy Father’s plan to address the situation of Catholics who have been divided by the government’s attempts to control the Church there.
The current situation of division began in 1951 when the officially atheist Communist Party took power and forced Catholics to cut ties with the Vatican. Presently, worship is allowed only in the government-controlled churches which are not allowed to acknowledge the leadership of the Pope. Millions of Chinese, however, belong to unofficial congregations loyal to Rome.
Benedict has been reaching out to Beijing in an effort to restore diplomatic ties and unite China's estimated 12 million faithful. The Chinese government and the Vatican have remained divided over the government’s refusal to allow the Pope to appoint bishops and to exercise his papal authority.
Benedict's decision to address Chinese Catholics in a letter came out of high-level talks on China at the Vatican in January.