VATICAN CITY — The China Philharmonic Orchestra performed for Pope Benedict XVI in a landmark concert Wednesday that could indicate warming relations between Beijing and the Vatican.
Benedict called it a “truly unique event” and offered a “thank you” in Chinese at the end of the hour-long concert.
He praised music as a bridge between cultures and peoples and expressed greetings “to all the people of China as they prepare for the Olympic Games.”
Ties between the Vatican and China’s communist government have been strained for decades. Benedict has made the improvement of relations with Beijing a priority of his papacy.
China’s officially atheist Communist Party cut ties with the Vatican in 1951, and the two sides have not restored formal ties.
Beijing objects to the Vatican’s tradition of having the pope name his own bishops, calling it interference in China.
China appoints bishops for the state-sanctioned Catholic church. Still, many of the country’s estimated 12 million Catholics worship in congregations outside the state-approved church.
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