China says Vatican overture a "step forward"

BEIJING, Jan 22 (Reuters) China's state-backed Catholic Church today welcomed an olive branch for dialogue extended by the Vatican over the weekend as a ''step forward''.

Rome issued a statement on Saturday after a two-day meeting on China, whose communist government severed diplomatic relations with the Holy See after taking power in 1949, calling for ''respectful and constructive dialogue'' to normalise ties.

''The statement is favourable for improving ties,'' Liu Bainian, vice-chairman of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, told Reuters. ''I am more optimistic than before.'' The Vatican is one of just some 20 countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, which split from China in 1949. Beijing regards the self-governed island as a renegade province.

About half of China's 10 million or more Catholics belong to an ''underground'' church directly loyal to the Vatican despite the atheist government's opposition and regular detentions of priests and bishops.

The remainder worship in the state-sanctioned church, which respects the Pope's spiritual authority but rejects his administrative and political role.

Liu said the fact the Vatican's statement acknowledged the growth of the Chinese Catholic community showed that it realised there was religious freedom in the country.

''They stressed lack of freedom in the past,'' said Liu, who is the government church's most public face.

But Cardinal Joseph Zen, the head of Hong Kong's Catholic diocese and a Vatican adviser on Chinese affairs, said the Vatican's statement did not represent a change of position.

''We are not surrendering and our stance has not changed,'' the South China Morning Post quoted Zen as saying.

The Vatican intended to set up a commission to handle relations with China, though details of the body envisioned had yet to be announced, Zen added.

In Taipei, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman David Wang said Taiwan was ''paying close attention'' to the Vatican-China meeting and seeking more details.

Hopes for rapprochement between China and the Vatican were dented last year when the official church consecrated new bishops without papal approval, which the Vatican denounced as a serious act that subverted the church's fundamental principles.

Liu repeated China's defence that the absence of ties made ''normal communication'' impossible and it needed the ''independent selection and consecration'' of bishops to spread the gospel.

Liu said Beijing wanted to see ''concrete actions'' by the Vatican to respect its position that Rome must abandon ties with Taiwan and refrain from interfering in China's internal affairs in the name of religion.

''The earlier the normalisation, the better. We pray for that,'' he said. ''We believe the Holy See loves China and he will listen to opinions for the improvement of ties.'' REUTERS SP BS1439