Catholic Leader's Historic Visit to Mark First for 21st-Century China
The most senior Roman Catholic Church leader in Scotland will become the first Catholic leader in the West to visit China this century when he begins a 12-day pastoral visit this week.
Scottish Cardinal Keith O'Brien will visit China by taking part in a cultural exchange that will see him visit Beijing, Shanghai, and Xi'an, which has been twinned with the United Kingdom's Edinburgh since 1984.
The visit is another sign that long-term divisions between the Catholic Church and Communist China are starting to ease.
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Reports have also indicated that the O'Brien intends to progress links between the Catholic and Protestant churches in the country during his visit.
"I know visiting China will be a very interesting experience," said the cardinal, who will visit the Great Wall while in Beijing. "It is a visit I have hoped to make for many years, to be able to enjoy the centuries-old culture of the country."
O'Brien will arrive in China on Friday following a visit to Vietnam, where he will be holding a lecture on social justice organized by the Vietnamese Academy of Social Sciences in Hanoi.
