Religious Affairs Administration says Catholics must “walk the path of an independent church.”
UCANews: Authorities overseeing religion in China told a group of Catholic bishops and leaders to insist on “sinicization,” in a gathering that took place soon after Beijing concluded closed-door meetings with a Vatican delegation.
It comes as Vatican officials publicly confirmed that China and the Holy See were engaged in dialogue, which included an Oct. 11-16 visit to Beijing first reported by ucanews.com.
Shortly after these meetings, a group of 25 Chinese bishops, priests, nuns and laypeople met with officials from the State Administration for Religious Affairs from Oct. 19-24 in Guizhou province.
“At the moment, loving the church and the country is manifested through … insisting on sinicization and deepening the extent of managing the church in a democratic way,” Chen Zhongrong, vice director of the religious affairs administration, told the Catholic leaders during the trip. Full report is here.
