Vatican urges dialogue with Beijing aimed at ties

VATICAN CITY, Jan 20 (Reuters) The Vatican said today it wanted a constructive dialogue with Beijing's communist government to overcome past ''misunderstandings'' and aimed at reaching full diplomatic relations with China.

A Vatican statement issued after an extraordinary two-day meeting on how to deal with China, where authorities do not allow Catholics to recognise papal authority, also said Pope Benedict would be writing a personal letter to the Catholics of China.

The meeting, chaired by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, concluded that a majority of bishops and priests in China were loyal to the Pope, in contrast to the official position of their government.

It said that China's Catholic community was growing and assured Beijing, which in the past has accused the Vatican of interfering in internal affairs, that the Church wanted to be an active contributor to the well-being of all Chinese people.

There are some 10 million Catholics in China, divided between an underground church loyal to the Holy See and a state-approved church that respects the Pope as a spiritual figurehead but rejects effective papal control. Beijing and the Vatican severed ties after the 1949 Communist takeover of China and the dispute over who has the say in the appointment of bishops has impeded detente. The Holy See recognises Beijing's diplomatic rival Taiwan.

REUTERS MS VV1931