by John L. Allen Jr.
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December 17, 2010
Chinese Catholics pray during Mass iN 2007 at St. Francis Cathedral in Xi'an, China. (CNS)
A blistering Vatican statement today accuses China of “unacceptable and hostile acts” during a recent government-orchestrated assembly of Chinese Catholics, which it said smacked of “fear and weakness," a "repressive attitude” and “intransigent intolerance,” producing a “grave loss of trust.”
Not only is it unusual for the Vatican to target a specific country in such public fashion, but today’s statement also ruptures the quiet diplomacy that has characterized the Vatican’s “China policy” since the papacy of Paul VI.
Read the full report: Vatican rips China for 'intolerance' and 'repression'
