China has called for “concrete actions” from the Vatican to help improve relations, after Pope Benedict urged Chinese bishops to resist pressure from Beijing and stay true to Rome.

“We hope that the Vatican can be clearly aware of the fact that China practises freedom of religious belief and of the continuous development of China’s Catholic Church,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told reporters, the Times of Malta reports.

Ms Jiang added that Beijing hoped the Vatican would “create conditions for the development of China-Vatican relations through concrete actions”.

On Wednesday, Pope Benedict called on Catholics across the world to pray that Chinese bishops would refuse to split from Rome, despite what he called “pressure” from the country’s communist authorities.

“We know that among our brother bishops there are some who suffer and find themselves under pressure in the exercise of their episcopal ministry,” Pope Benedict said at his weekly general audience in St Peter’s Square.

“To them, to the priests and to all the Catholics who encounter difficulties in the free profession of faith, we express our closeness,” he said.

SOURCE

China calls for Vatican ‘actions’ (Times of Malta)

China calls for Vatican ‘actions’