Vatican official: Church in China seeks no privileges, only freedom

Published: 2006-06-02

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Vatican's top foreign affairs official said the church seeks no privileges in China, but only wants the freedom to organize its internal affairs. The comments by Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo came after a month of heightened church-state tensions in China over the ordination of bishops unapproved by Pope Benedict XVI. The archbishop said interference by Chinese authorities in the bishop selection process ends up exacerbating divisions among Chinese Catholics. He spoke in an interview with a Romanian newspaper, and the Vatican translated and distributed the text to journalists June 1. "As in all countries of the world, the church in China does not seek any privilege but only wants to be free in its internal organization," Archbishop Lajolo said. He said this was a matter of church law and did not represent an intrusion in the affairs of the Chinese state.

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