Pope urges Vatican commission on China to work in favor of Catholics

Published: 2008-03-13

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI urged members of a recently established Vatican commission "to continue their commitment in favor of the Catholic community in China." After meeting March 12 with participants of the closed-door sessions in the Vatican, the pope also highlighted the upcoming May 24 Universal Day of Prayer for the Church in China that he established last year. The commission, created by the pope to study key questions concerning the life of the church in China, held its first meeting March 10-12 at the Vatican. According to a Vatican statement distributed to journalists March 13, the pope listened to a summarized report of the commission's work over the past three days. The meeting used Pope Benedict's June 2007 letter to Chinese Catholics as its theme for discussions, the Vatican statement said.

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