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Catholic World News News Feature

Beijing warns against papal meeting with Dalai Lama November 02, 2007

The Chinese government has reacted angrily to reports that Pope Benedict XVI will meet with the Dalai Lama in December, warning that such a meeting would be "an offense," and hinting at repercussions for the Church in China.

Italian news agencies have reported that the Pope will hold a private audience for the Dalai Lama in December, when the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader is due to be in Rome. The Vatican has not officially confirmed plans for the visit.

However, the media reports were enough to trigger a strong response from Beijing. A government spokesman said that the Vatican should "show sincerity to improve relations" by scuttling any plans for the meeting.

The Chinese regime has consistently objected to any meetings by world leaders with the Dalai Lama, who is regarded as a key symbol of Tibet's hope for freedom from Beijing. The Dalai Lama has frequently expressed his opposition to Chinese occupation of his country-- although he has dropped his public demands for Tibetan independence. He has lived in exile since 1959.

Pope Benedict met with the Dalai Lama on October 13, 2006, while the Buddhist was visiting Rome to accept an honorary doctorate. At that time, Vatican officials took pains to emphasize that the meeting was a "private courtesy visit," and the conversation involved "strictly religious matters." Initial reports suggested that the meeting planned for December 2007 would have a more official character.

Relations between the Holy See and the Chinese government have been extremely delicate in recent months. Although the Vatican does not have formal diplomatic relations with Beijing, the two sides have had a series of unofficial exchanges, attempting to resolve a conflict over the appointment of bishops for the Chinese Catholic Church.

The Holy See insists on the right to name new Catholic bishops; Beijing is equally insistent that the leadership of the Chinese Church should not be subject to outside influence. Informal negotiations this year seemed to have produced a tacit working agreement, under which the Vatican quietly approved a nominee chosen independently by Chinese Catholics to become the Bishop of Beijing.