Pope says China 'must open up to Christ'

Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday said China was becoming an important political and economic force but must open the doors to Christianity.
The pontiff made his comments while speaking in the small church of the Alto Adige mountain town of Oies, the birthplace of Italian missionary St Giuseppe Freinademetz, who spent most of his life in China.
''We know that China is becoming increasingly more important politically and economically, and also in the life of ideas,'' the pope said.
''It's important that this great continent opens up to the gospel of Christ,'' said the pope, speaking three days ahead of a ceremony to inaugurate the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
''St Giuseppe Freinademetz showed us that faith does not alienate any culture or people, because all cultures are waiting for Christ and will not be destroyed. In the Lord, they reach their maturity,'' he said.
Speaking of Freinademetz, who set off for China in 1879 at the age of 27, the pope said the saint ''identified with these people and with the certainty that they will open up to the faith of Christ''.
Pope Benedict is currently on holiday in Bressanone, Alto Adige, with his brother, Georg Ratzinger.
During his Angelus service on Sunday, the pope sent China his best wishes for a successful Olympics and called for the Games to serve as an example of peaceful co-existence among people of different backgrounds.
The Vatican will be represented at the opening ceremony by Hong Kong bishop, John Tong Hon.
The pope has called for greater dialogue with the officially atheist state, making it clear he wants to eventually restore full diplomatic ties with Beijing.
Ties were severed in 1951, soon after the Communist Revolution.
United States President George W. Bush expressed the pope's same concerns in an interview published on Tuesday.
Ahead of his trip to the opening ceremony in Beijing, Bush told the Washington Post that he also plans to call for greater religious freedom in China.
''My main objective in my discussions on religious freedom is to remind this new generation of leadership that religion is not to be feared but to be welcomed in society,'' he said.