Vatican (UCAN): “The Catholic Church in China is not a ‘foreigner’ but an integral and active part of Chinese history and can contribute to the edification of a society that is more harmonious and respectful of all,” Pietro Cardinal Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, wrote in the preface of a soon to be launched book, The Church in China: A New Departure.
 

SYDNEY (CNS): Chinese premier, Li Keqiang, has reiterated the Communist Party’s commitment to make religion more culturally Chinese, underscoring what many see are problems with the provisional agreement on the appointment of bishops, signed in September between the Vatican and Beijing.
 

PANAMA CITY (UCAN): The Chinese Catholic community in Panama City, Panama, received Chinese pilgrims to World Youth Day 2019, held in Panama from January 22 to 27 from, and shared their experiences of evangelising as more people turn to Protestant Churches. 
 

HONG KONG (UCAN): Bishop Augustine Cui Tai, coadjutor of the Diocese of Xuanhua, Hebei, along with Father Su Guipeng and Father Zhao He, all members of the unofficial Church, were able to go home for the Lunar New Year.
 
They had been under detention since last year.
 
Bishop Cui had not been seen since mid-April last year and his whereabouts were unknown.
 

HONG KONG (UCAN): Bishop Zhuang Jianjian from the unofficial Church in Shantou did not attend his own retirement Mass after not agreeing to retire.
 
The 88-year-old bishop attended a retirement ceremony held by the Diocese of Shantou but said he did not attend a Mass celebrated by his replacement, Bishop Huang Bingzhang, who was excommunicated until he was accepted by Pope Francis following the Sino-Vatican provisional agreement on the appointment of bishops was signed last September.