” “”In China, the Church and the State are in a vicious circle they must get rid of. Real dialogue needs unprejudiced openness and can take a long, very long, time for them to get to know each other better." This is the opinion of father Jeroom Heyndrickx, one of the most famous European sinologists living between Belgium and Taipei who last night met the press at the VII European Talks of Catholics on China, which is in progress until September 10th in Triuggio (Milan), with over 150 delegates from China and many countries across the world. Heyndrickx asked above all not to use the phrases "patriotic Church" and "underground Church", as many papers do, but to distinguish instead the official Church, bound to the patriotic association, from the "unofficial" one, which lives underground to try to be free of any governmental conditions on its appointments and activities. According to recent estimates, the Catholics in China are 13 million, 5 of whom belong to the official Church and 8 to the unofficial Church. The dioceses are 138, the bishops of the official Church are 64, the bishops of the unofficial Church are 39, priests are 1,800 and 1,100, respectively, seminarians are 640 and 800, respectively, nuns are 3,600 and 1,200, respectively. (to be continued)” “
