Beijing Censors Part of Vatican Website in Chinese
ICC Note:
Though the Vatican website has been launched in Chinese, a letter from the pope to Chinese Catholics is inaccessible and has been prohibited from distribution.
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3/20/09 China (AsiaNews) The Vatican’s website in Chinese, which was launched yesterday, is visible in China almost in its entirety, but the pope’s letter to Chinese Catholics remains inaccessible.
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Sources for AsiaNews confirm that it is possible to read news about the pontiff, his speeches to the young people, the Wednesday catecheses, but his letter to Chinese Catholics made public in June of 2007 remains inaccessible. Despite the openness and caution of the document, the pontiff claims for the Holy See the last word on the appointment of bishops, and says that the Patriotic Association, the organism for controlling the Church, is based on principles contrary to the Catholic faith, essentially rejecting it. Since its publication, the letter has been banned in China, distributing it has been prohibited, and internet sites that post it have been forced to take it down. But the censorship has been pointless, because the letter circulates clandestinely in all the Catholic communities.
