Pope prays for Chinese Catholics to be in communion with Rome

Euronews

25-05-2025

Pope Leo XIV on Sunday 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 the Catholic Church marked a special feast day on Saturday 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 didn't recognise papal authority and an underground church that remained loyal to Rome through decades of persecution.
Leo noted that on the feast day, 'in 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.'
Speaking from his studio window during his noontime blessing, Leo prayed that Catholics in China and elsewhere 'obtain the grace to be strong and joyful witnesses of the Gospel, even in the midst of trials, to always promote peace and harmony.'
Pope Francis took Benedict's 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.
The deal has been criticised by some, especially on the Catholic right, for having caved to Beijing's 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.
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 Pope Leo, when the Chinese church proceeded with the preliminary election of two bishops, a step that comes before official consecration.
Leo told the archbishop of Hong Kong, Cardinal Stephen Chow, that he had 'visited China several times and got to know the Chinese culture and reality,' according to the Fides missionary news agency, citing comments Chow made in his diocesan weekly newsletter after the conclave.
Chow added that he expected Leo would follow Francis' 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, 24 May.
Chow, a Jesuit, said he had implored Leo 'to not forget the church in China and the Chinese people,' according to the newsletter. 'He nodded his head to indicate that he would not forget,' according to Fides.
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's insistence on its exclusive right to name bishops as a matter of national sovereignty, while the Vatican insisted on the pope's exclusive right to name the successors of the original Apostles.
Russia and Ukraine on Sunday completed the exchange of 1,000 prisoners each, with the handover of the last 303 prisoners.
The three-day swap, which started on Friday, was the largest since the war began three years ago.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed the completion of the exchange, saying on X on Sunday that '303 Ukrainian defenders are home".
The swap was agreed on in Istanbul earlier this month during the first face-to-face talks between the two sides since the war began.
The prisoner exchange, which included civilians, has been the only concrete step towards peace to emerge from the meeting.
Just hours before the last handover, Russia hit Ukraine with a massive drone and missile assault which Ukrainian officials described as the largest aerial attack of the war.
Officials said at least 12 people were killed and dozens others injured in what they described as the largest aerial assault since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
There was no immediate comment from Moscow on the strikes.
Russia's Defence Ministry said meanwhile that its air defences shot down 110 Ukrainian drones overnight.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged his country's Western partners to ramp up sanctions against Russia.
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday said Moscow would present Ukraine with a draft peace agreement once the exchange was completed.
Posting on X on Sunday, President Zelenskyy reiterated the urgent need for a ceasefire and promised to bring every Ukrainian home.
The prisoner exchange was the latest of dozens of swaps since the war began but also the biggest involving Ukrainian civilians.
Hundreds of thousands of soldiers on both sides, and tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians, are believed to have been wounded or killed during the war.