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Vatican renews call to reconcile amid row

The Vatican's secretary of state yesterday called on mainland Catholics to reconcile and work for the long-term development of the Church, and reiterated hopes of talking constructively with Beijing.

The letter, written by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone and addressed to all priests in mainland China, came as grievances intensified in a key mainland diocese over alleged mishandling of papal directives on relations between underground and state-sanctioned communities.

Stressing that the Holy See was 'aware of the complex and difficult situation' regarding the mainland Church, Pope Benedict's top lieutenant said only by maintaining unity in the faith could people endure their 'divisions and miseries'.

He also called for stepping up spiritual training for priests and the faithful, and reminded bishops to build better ties with their priests.

Bertone's letter was the latest Vatican move to address the long-standing strife between Catholic communities Beijing sanctions and underground ones loyal to the Pope.

In 2007, the Pope wrote his first letter to Catholics in mainland China, calling for reconciliation and laying down guidelines to pave the way for the gradual merger of the two communities, with a condition that church principles not be violated.

But while most Catholics praised the Pope's call for reconciliation, the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, which controls the state-sanctioned church, was accused of exploiting that goodwill and luring underground bishops and priests into its ranks.

A row broke out last month in the Baoding diocese in Hebei . Coadjutor Bishop Francis An Shuxin, an underground bishop released earlier from 10 years' jail, admitted he had joined the association 'for the good of the diocese and the urgent need to evangelise'.

Mainland Catholics have criticised the Congregation for the Evangelisation of the Peoples - the Vatican's missionary department, which oversees mainland church affairs - for giving misleading information to An when he sought guidance on whether he could operate openly.

A Chinese cleric with knowledge of the situation said An was 'encouraged' by Vatican officials, who were in favour of his move, to consult his priests and faithful, although the Vatican did not authorise his joining the association.

'A dangerous precedent has now been set for unsuspecting clergy in other dioceses,' the cleric said. 'Some Vatican officials have mishandled the complex situation.'

The situation was not helped by Cardinal Ivan Dias, the chief of the Holy See's missionary department, who praised An in a 2008 letter, in which he appeared to inexplicitly endorse An's controversial celebration of a Mass with a bishop not recognised by the Vatican - an act which infuriated underground Catholics.

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