NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

      BEIJING (CWNews.com) - A Beijing newspaper reported on Friday that China's Communist government may be prepared to recognize Vatican authority over Catholics in China as a prelude to formal diplomatic ties.

      The United Daily News newspaper said China had made the concession in secret talks with Vatican officials who have made several visits to Beijing. According to the report, the Pope would be allowed to choose and ordain new bishops for the Church in China, but the Communist government would still retain final approval. The reported compromise is similar to the arrangement the Vatican has worked out with Communist Vietnam.

      The newspaper report also said the Vatican agreed to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan, which China views as a renegade province. However, the Vatican would still maintain unofficial ties with Taiwan's government and would suffer no restrictions on the 300,000 Catholics in Taiwan. The topic of a papal visit to Hong Kong and a reciprocal visit by Chinese President Jiang Zemin to the Vatican are as yet unresolved.

      China's government mandates that all Catholics belong to the state-sanctioned Catholic Patriotic Association, which eschews any connections to the Vatican. The association has an estimated 3 million members while there are an estimated 8-10 million underground Catholics.