Letter of the Sacred Congregation for Propagation of the Faith with which enclosed were the Directives On Some Of The Problems Of The Church In Continental China.
Since the Roman Pontiff in the Catholic Church is “a permanent and visible principle and foundation of unity of Faith and fellowship” (L. G. n.18) those who don’t profess or don’t preserve the communion with the Pope, cannot consider themselves to be Catholic. Communion with the Pope is not only a question of discipline but of Catholic faith.For this reason, the Holy See keeps in deep esteem and admiration the Bishops, priests, religious and lay people who in the course of time and in all the regions of the world have always maintained the integrity of their Faith, including their fidelity to the Roman Pontiff. And it encourages them to continue and to grow in the same Faith.
3. In so far as China is concerned, history records in 1957 the constitution of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association whose expressed intent was to renounce to the fundamental bonds with the Roman Pontiff and the Holy See and to place the community of the Faithful under the direct control of the civic authority.
The purpose of the visit was to outline CCCB involvement in ecumenical, ethical, pastoral and faith education programs in Canada, and to show how religious diversity in Canada, respect for each other's differences and the respective autonomy of Church and state were ways of ensuring religious freedom in Canada.