China Orchestra Plays for Pope for First Time, Hinting at Thaw

I. China Orchestra Plays for Pope for First Time, Hinting at Thaw New York Times, May 8, 2008
Ihttp://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/08/world/europe/08vatican.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=pope+orchestra&st=nyt&oref=slogin
II. The China Philharmonic Orchestra preformed for Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday. After over 50 years of stressed associations, the Vatican and Chinese Catholics are finally showing signs of hopeful future diplomatic relations. Previously, the Vatican has been frustrated with the state-run churches in China and their inability to defer with them about religious issues. Now, both nations have decided to reinforce their ties with a peaceful gathering. Opinions on this topic are varied. Han Qiang, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Rome says that the overall gathering was an “unofficial cultural initiative,” although it could “improve relations between the two states.” On the other hand, Rev. Giancarlo Politi, a former missionary in China with the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions says that “On one hand, you have a boycott, and at the same time you have the concert. That’s why I don’t think the opening is of much consequence.” “It’s just a little folklore.” Either way, the Pope did not refer to the overall tensions between the two states in his speech, but he did state “a special thought for those of your fellow citizens who share faith in Jesus and are united through a particular spiritual bond with the successor of Peter.” Despite the tensions, all agreed that the music served as an icebreaker, relating to Pope Benedict referring music to a “universal language of art.”
III. A. The AP theme this article relates to State-building, expansion and conflict and Development and interaction of cultures. The act of China and the Vatican expressing conflict between their forms of government and their overall nation relates to the theme of State-building… The act of China practicing the religion of Roman Catholicism (the religion of the Vatican) relates to the theme of Development…
B. The historical background of this issue goes back to the 1950’s when Chinese Roman Catholic churches did not refer back to the Vatican for religious issues and questions. Instead, they addressed all of their religious matters straight to the state, who controlled the churches from a political point of view. Being the center of Roman Catholicism, the Vatican thought that all of China’s Roman Catholic religious issues should be sent directly to them.
C. The author of this article is Elisabetta Povoledo. It seems as though she is a female reporter for the NY Times.
D. This article provides little bias throughout the text. Both sides of the issue are shown.
E. A missing voice that could be added in order to fully asses this article to its fullest ability would be hearing the point of view of Chinese Roman Catholic’s to hear if they feel oppressed by the Vatican or if they would like to reach out to the Vatican more but the Chinese government wont allow it.
F. I really enjoyed this article. As I was reading, I felt fortunate to be living in a democracy where you are free to express your philosophies, religion and overall state of mind. Living in a communist country, such as China, it is hard to do such a thing. I also thought that it was quite interesting that two nations with conflict were able to start their resolving process through a gathering of music.