CHINA CONGRATULATES POPE LEO, HOPES FOR CONSTRUCTIVE DIALOGUE
China has sent congratulations to the newly elected Pope Leo XIV and hopes the Vatican under the new pontiff will continue dialogue with Beijing “in a constructive spirit,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Friday at a regular press conference.
Two government-backed groups, the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association and the Bishops’ Conference of Catholic Church in China, also sent congratulations, the official Xinhua news agency said in a one-line report.
Last October, China and the Vatican extended for four years a landmark 2018 agreement signed when Francis was pope on the appointment of Catholic bishops in China.
