"The universal church prays with you and for you" - Pope Francis to Chinese Catholics
There is a serious ongoing religious persecution against Catholics and Christians in general in China.
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On May 23, 2018, which happened to be the Feast of Our Lady Help of Christians of Sheshan, The Tablet reports that the Pontiff called on everyone to pray for Christians in China.
Speaking to the audience gathered in St Peter's Square, Pope Francis said the feast day "invites us to be united spiritually with all the Catholic faithful who live in China".
The audience was asked to pray that Catholics there would be able "to live the faith with generosity and serenity" and carry out "concrete gestures of fraternity, harmony, and reconciliation, in full communion with the successor of Peter."
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"Dear disciples of the Lord in China, the universal church prays with you and for you so that even in the midst of difficulties you may continue to trust in God's will," he added.
Christian Persecution in China
Pope Francis' call for prayers is due to the crackdown on Christianity by the Chinese government.
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Reportedly, Catholics have been stopped from having contact with the Vatican and are only allowed to worship in government-monitored churches.
Reportedly, the Vatican is currently working with the government to rectify the situation. The Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, recently shared details in an interview with the Italian daily, La Stampa.
"We're interested in spaces of freedom for the Church, to guarantee that it can live a normal life that is made also in communion with the pope," he said.
Catholics are not only ones who are being persecuted by the communist government.
A watchdog group called ChinaAid reports that there is a full out "purge against Christians" in the Zhejiang province in Eastern China.
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So far, all kinds of religious meetings have been banned as people are being called to renounce their faith.
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