Pope Leo prays for the Chinese Catholics, a thorny issue in the papacy Religion news

Relations with China remain sensitive within the Catholic Church during the 2018 deal between the Holy See and Beijing.

Pope Leo XIV, the newly -elected prayer for Catholics in China, asked for his first reference to one of the most controversial issues facing the Catholic Church and his wearing in the geopolitical square.

Speaking on Sunday from the Vatican Apostolic Palace window, the ink summoned the International Day of Prayer for the Church in China, which is located on every May 24 – a feast started by Pope Benedict XVI.

“In China’s churches and shrines and all over the world, prayers to God have arisen as evidence of anxiety and affection for the Chinese Catholics and their communication with the World Church,” Liu said to about 35,000 believers.

The Pope expressed his hope to obtain prayers for them and for grace to be the strong and happiness of the gospel, even in the midst of trials, to always encourage peace and harmony. “

Pope Benedict XVI, who headed the Church from 2005 to 2013, established the feast as part of his efforts to unite China of 12 million Catholics, who were divided between an official church controlled by the state that did not recognize the papal authority, and an underground church that remained sincere for Rome during decades of trio.

Relations with China remain a A very sensitive issue within the church, where some clerics reject a deal for the year 2018 between the Holy See and China, which gave Beijing an opinion on the appointment of the Catholic bishops there, where the Catholics were suppressed by the Communist Party.

The agreement was aimed at uniting the herd, organizing the situation of seven bishops that were not recognized by Rome, and the melting contracts of separation between China and the Vatican.

While the details of the agreement were not issued at all, Pope Francis insisted that he retained the veto power on this final selection.

Critics, especially in the right -wing Catholic wing, believe that Francis has been subjected to Beijing’s demands and sold underground believers in China. The Vatican said it was the best deal you could get, and it has been periodically renewed since then.

Pope Liu will decide whether to continue to renew the agreement. There were some clear violations on the side of Beijing, with some appointments from one side that occurred without the approval of the papacy.

The case reached her head immediately before Liu was elected, when the Chinese Church continued the primary elections of the bishops, a step that comes before the official dedication.

The Vatican has been working for years to try to improve relations with China, which has been officially cut off more than seven decades when the Communists arrived in power.

Relations have always been reserved on China’s insistence on its exclusive right to naming the bishops as a issue of national sovereignty, while the Vatican insisted on the exclusive right of Pope to naming the original messengers.