Pope: Possibility Of Visit to China Is ‘Complicated'

VATICAN CITY — A senior official in China's state-sanctioned Catholic Church said in comments published yesterday that he would like Pope Benedict XVI to visit China. Benedict did not dismiss the possibility but said the issue was "complicated."

Liu Bainian, vice chairman of the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, made the comments in an interview with Italian daily La Repubblica in which he praised Benedict's recent letter to China's Catholics as "positive." "I strongly hope to be able to see the pope one day here in Beijing to celebrate Mass for us Chinese," Mr. Liu was quoted as saying.

Benedict was asked about the comments as he left a church in Auronzo di Cadore, in northern Italy, where he was meeting with clergy from the region. "I can't speak at this time," Benedict said, according to news agencies. "It's a bit complicated."