Taiwanese pledge faith

THE TAIWANESE Catholic bishops have pledged their unity with the Holy See and accused the Chinese Communist government of persecuting Catholics still faithful to the Pope.
"Bishops, priests and faithful of mainland China have sacrificed all, supporting the sufferings of. labour camps and prisons and even accepting condemnat ions to death," said a recent pastoral letter issued by the Taiwan bishops, who consider themselves as representing a region of China. It said that since 1961, the Taiwanese bishops have considered themselves an "ecclesiastical province of China with six dioceses."
The pastoral letter came at a time of renewed efforts by Catholic leaders outside Taiwan to improve relations between the Vatican and the Chinese government.
A key issue for the Vatican is normalising with the Patriotic Association.