China cautious on papal diplomacy

The Pope has apologised once before

China has responded to diplomatic overtures from Pope John Paul II by saying it is willing to improve relations but on its own terms.

The Pope on Wednesday apologised to China for any "errors" made by missionaries in the past. He also called for diplomatic ties to be restored.

The church must not be afraid of historical truth and she is ready - with deeply felt pain - to admit the responsibility of her children. This is true also with regard to her relationship, past and present, with the Chinese people

Pope John Paul II

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said relations could be normalised but only if the Vatican accepted that "it cannot interfere in China's internal affairs using the pretext of religious issues."

China is one of the few states in the world which has no diplomatic relations with the Vatican and the BBC's Rome correspondent said that this apology marks an unprecedented gesture towards normalising relations.

In the past China has made two conditions for re-establishing relations - first, the transfer of diplomatic relations from Taiwan to Beijing, and, secondly, an apology for past errors.

In his apology, the Pope said: "I feel deep sadness for those errors and limits of the past, and I regret that in many people these failings may have given the impression of a lack of respect and esteem for the Chinese people on the part of the Catholic Church."

Seeking forgiveness

The pontiff avoided detailing the Church's mistakes in its evangelical efforts in China.

And he defended the "outstanding evangelising commitment" of a long line of missionaries, but said many had erred.

The pontiff asked for "the forgiveness and understanding of those who may have felt hurt in some way by such actions on the part of Christians".

And he said that the "present moment of profound disquiet in the international community calls for a fervent commitment on the part of everyone to creating and developing ties of understanding, friendship and solidarity among peoples".

China and the Vatican broke formal relations in 1951, when the Communists threw out the Papal Nuncio, or ambassador.

Catholics in China were ordered to sever all ties with Rome and those who failed to do so risked persecution and imprisonment.

China now has a state-sanctioned Patriotic Church which does not recognise papal authority, including the right to name bishops.

Bitter dispute

The Pope made his apology during an address to a symposium in Rome on a 17th-century Jesuit missionary who spent 28 years in China, the Reverend Matteo Ricci.

"The church must not be afraid of historical truth and she is ready - with deeply felt pain - to admit the responsibility of her children. This is true also with regard to her relationship, past and present, with the Chinese people," he said.

The Pope offered a similar apology to China a year ago during a bitter dispute over the canonisation of 120 missionaries killed in anti-Western and anti-church violence.

The BBC's David Willey in Rome says that the new apology was in line with his previous pleas for forgiveness for the past sins of the Roman Catholic Church made during the millennium celebrations.