ssues of Pope Benedict XVI's papacy. The Vatican's tradition that only the pope can name bishops has become a major hurdle in Benedict's effort to reach out to the Chinese.
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican's No. 2 official, will preside over a two-day meeting Friday and Saturday on "problems between the Holy See and China," said Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi.
Benedict will not sit in on the talks, he said, but may meet with the participants, who are expected to include Cardinal Joseph Zen, an outspoken champion of religious freedom from Hong Kong, and prelates from Macau and Taiwan.
The Vatican has long indicated that it wants to establish diplomatic relations with Beijing, even at the cost of moving its embassy from Taiwan, but will not compromise on the tradition dictating that only the pope -- and not a local church -- can appoint bishops.
Beijing's ties with the Vatican were broken in 1951 after the communists took power in China. Worship is only allowed in government-controlled churches, but as many as 10 million Catholics are estimated to belong to unofficial congregations loyal to Rome.
Since succeeding John Paul II in 2005, the German-born Benedict has made improving relations with China a key item on his agenda. There has even been talk of a possible papal trip to China around the time of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
But for the time being, progress has been stalled.
AsiaNews, a missionary news service that follows the China situation closely, said some in the Church are opposed to any diplomatic opening until the Vatican is assured full religious freedom, including an understanding that the pope must sign off on any appointment of a bishop.
China's state-sanctioned Catholic Church, the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, unilaterally appointed three bishops last year, which the Vatican called "extremely grave acts" that caused Benedict "great sorrow."
Vatican officials have made clear that the issue of its diplomatic relations with Taiwan -- the Vatican is Taiwan's only diplomatic ally in Europe -- is no longer a stumbling bloc, stressing that the change won't weaken its "bonds of friendship" with Taiwan's 300,000 Catholics and the entire population.
