China Recruiting Foreign Priests for Olympic Ministry

Beijing, Jul. 23, 2008 (CWNews.com) - Chinese officials will bring in Catholic priests from other countries to celebrate Mass for athletes and tourists attending the Olympics, the Xinhua news agency reports.

The "official" (government-approved) Beijing diocese has announced plans to recruit priests from abroad, to administer the sacraments in other languages. A diocesan spokesman said that although native Chinese priests are fluent in several languages, they will need help with French, Italian, and German.

The recruitment of priests from other countries will require officials of the "official" Chinese Catholic Church to cooperate with Catholic dioceses in other countries. The Beijing government in the past has sought to avoid foreign "interference" in the affairs of the Chinese Church.

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