In China, a Catholic group tests changing waters
Mon May 28, 2007

Chinese Catholics are also confronting their own inner divide, and groups like Jinde, which takes its name from a deceased local bishop, offer clues to how the rift may be narrowed, said observers.

The country's 12 million or so Catholics are split between state-registered churches and "underground" ones that reject state ties. Pope Benedict is due to issue a letter soon on the future of China's church, urging reconciliation between both.

The "above-ground" side also generally honors the Pope as a spiritual leader and most of its bishops now have Rome's blessing. But the government restricts official church contacts with Rome, which has not had diplomatic ties with Beijing since 1951.

Tensions run deep in Hebei, home to about 1.5 million Catholics and a stronghold of those who regard the "above-ground" church as illegitimate. Detentions of underground priests have been common in the province. the rest