Pope prays for China’s Catholics to be in communion with Rome
Pope Leo asked for prayers for China’s 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.
The 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’s estimated 12 million Catholics who were divided between an official, state-controlled church that did not recognise papal authority, and an underground church that remained loyal to Rome through decades of persecution.
