VATICAN CITY, MAY 24, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Two years after the publication of a letter to Chinese Catholics, Benedict XVI has approved a compendium on the document, which was released today.
The Vatican press office announced the release of the compendium that summarizes the 2007 letter sent to the bishops, priests, consecrated persons and lay faithful of the People’s Republic of China.
The letter offers guidelines concerning the life of the Church and the task of evangelization in China, the communiqué reported, in order to «help Chinese Catholics discover what the Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, […] wants from them.»
The press release reports that the letter, on the second anniversary of its publication, has «given rise not only to study sessions exploring its content but also to many pastoral initiatives.»
It added that the letter «is becoming a reliable point of reference for the resolution of the various problems that the Catholic community is having to address on both the doctrinal level and the practical, disciplinary level.»
The compendium gives the content of the letter in a question and answer format, to facilitate a deeper understanding of the Pope’s «thought on some particularly delicate points.»
The document will be offered on the Vatican Web site in Chinese — simplified and traditional characters — and English.
