Pope Leo XIV asked Sunday for prayers for China\u2019s Catholics to be in communion with the Holy See, as he made his first public remarks about one of the thorniest foreign policy issues facing his new pontificate. <\/p>\n
History\u2019s first American pope recalled that on Saturday the Catholic Church marked a special feast day to pray for the church in China. Pope Benedict XVI had initiated the feast day as part of his efforts to unify China\u2019s estimated 12 million Catholics who were divided between an official, state-controlled church that didn\u2019t recognize papal authority, and an underground church that remained loyal to Rome through decades of persecution. <\/p>\n
Leo noted that on the feast day \u201cin the churches and shrines in China and throughout the world, prayers have been raised to God as a sign of the solicitude and affection for Chinese Catholics and their communion with the universal church.\u201d <\/p>\n
Speaking from his studio window during his noontime blessing, Leo prayed that Catholics in China and elsewhere \u201cobtain the grace to be strong and joyful witnesses of the Gospel, even in the midst of trials, to always promote peace and harmony.\u201d <\/p>\n
Pope Francis took Benedict\u2019s unifying efforts further by approving a controversial deal in 2018 over bishop nominations. The details of the deal were never released, but it affords the state-controlled church a say in its church leaders, though Francis insisted he retained veto power over the ultimate choice. <\/p>\n
The deal has been criticized by some, especially on the Catholic right, for having caved to Beijing\u2019s demands and sold out the underground faithful in China. The Vatican has said it was the best deal it could get and it has been renewed periodically since then. <\/p>\n
Leo will have to decide whether to continue renewing the accord. There have been some apparent violations on the Beijing side with some unilateral appointments that occurred without papal consent. The issue came to a head just before the conclave that elected Leo pope, when the Chinese church proceeded with the preliminary election of two bishops, a step that comes before official consecration. <\/p>\n
Leo told the archbishop of Hong Kong, Cardinal Stephen Chow, that he had \u201cvisited China several times and got to know the Chinese culture and reality,\u201d according to the Fides missionary news agency, citing comments Chow made in his diocesan weekly newsletter after the conclave. <\/p>\n
Chow added that he expected Leo would follow Francis\u2019 direction for the church in China. He said he had given Leo a small statue of Our Lady of Sheshan, a statue of the Madonna that is particularly venerated by Chinese faithful and is celebrated on the feast day, May 24. <\/p>\n
Chow, a Jesuit, said he had implored Leo \u201cto not forget the church in China and the Chinese people,\u201d according to the newsletter. \u201cHe nodded his head to indicate that he will not forget,\u201d according to Fides. <\/p>\n
The Vatican has been working for years to try to improve relations with China that were officially severed over seven decades ago when the Communists came to power. Relations had long been stymied over China\u2019s insistence on its exclusive right to name bishops as a matter of national sovereignty, while the Vatican insisted on the pope\u2019s exclusive right to name the successors of the original Apostles. <\/p>\n
The 2018 deal was aimed at uniting the flock, regularizing the status of seven bishops who weren\u2019t recognized by Rome and thawing decades of estrangement between China and the Vatican. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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