Beijing urges next pope to not interfere with its affairs

Asked about the pope's decision to step down, which stunned the world when it was announced last Monday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said the Vatican “should not interfere in China's internal affairs.”

The phrase is often a reference to perceived challenges to the authority of the ruling Communist Party, and China and the Vatican have clashed over issues including the ordination of priests and who should be the final arbiter of church affairs.

Hong said he hoped the next pope would “create conditions for the improvement of bilateral relations” with China, but indicated that Beijing would not allow a thaw in relations without concessions from the Vatican.

China does not have diplomatic relations with the Holy See, and only permits worship in its state-run Catholic Church, which has 5.7 million members and does not recognize the ultimate authority of the pope.

SHARE CLOSE
Blogger		Google+
Live Journal		Plurk
Stumble Upon

Tweet

	PREVIOUS ARTICLE
	China rejects Manila's UN mediation attempt

NEXT ARTICLE
China says ConocoPhillips can resume production in northeast

Write a Comment

Terms

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

 Receive China Post promos
 Respond to this email

Submit