Beijing softens toward Vatican
27 July 2007
A vice premier said that the mainland Catholic Church should continue to be independent from the Vatican while "changing with the times," the South China Morning Post reported. Vice Premier Hui Liangyu said that the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, a state-linked body that controls the mainland Catholic Church, should "strengthen its work with a spirit that changes with the times" while remaining independent and autonomous. Hui also said that he hoped the Pope would come to Beijing "someday". The Pope wrote an open letter to Beijing last month where he said state control of mainland churches went against Catholic teachings.