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The
Vatican and China are in advanced talks to resolve a dispute
over the appointment of bishops in China, one of the biggest
obstacles to resuming diplomatic ties that were cut almost 70
years ago.
"We are at a good point," the pope told Reuters in an interview
at his Vatican residence.
China's estimated 12 million Catholics are split between an
underground Church that swears loyalty to the Vatican and the
state-supervised Catholic Patriotic Association.
Pope Francis did not comment in the interview on the details
under discussion but said dialogue was the best way forward.
"Dialogue is a risk, but I prefer risk rather than the certain
defeat that comes with not holding dialogue," he said.
"As for the timing, some people say it's 'Chinese time'. I say
it's God's time. Let's move forward serenely."
Francis said the road to reconciliation with China was divided
into three paths -- the official dialogue, unofficial contacts
among ordinary citizens "which we do not want to burn," and
cultural dialogue.
"I think the Chinese people merit the Nobel Prize for patience.
They know how to wait. Time is theirs and they have centuries of
culture .... They are a wise people, very wise. I have great
respect for China," he said.
The most outspoken critic of the pope's China strategy is
86-year-old Cardinal Joseph Zen, a former bishop of Hong Kong,
who has said the direction of negotiations suggests the Vatican
is preparing to sell out the underground church.
In Hong Kong, a beachhead for Vatican loyalists in southern
China, some priests say the talks could be a trap leading to
greater persecution of underground believers and ultimately to
tighter Communist Party control of their religion.
(Editing by Mark Bendeich and Timothy Heritage)
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