Beijing ( CNN ) -- Many of China 's Catholics are awaiting the election of Pope Benedict XVI 's successor with high expectations . `` We pray for the new pope , '' said Father Francis Zhang , a Beijing priest . `` We hope he will be spiritual , dynamic and open minded . We hope he will be more open to China , more pragmatic , and someone who understands very well the Chinese Catholic church . '' In recent days , Father Zhang , the parish priest of the Yongning Catholic church in the northern suburbs of the capital , has been travelling to several Chinese cities , giving lectures to jam-packed audiences of priests , seminarians and laymen . `` Sometimes the audience is as big as 4,000 people , '' he enthused . `` I talk about religion and church management . '' Chinese Catholics like Zhang have long been caught in the middle of a decades-long conflict between China 's Communist Party and the Vatican . They are walking a fine line between loyalty to the Holy See and to their country . `` Of course we believe in one holy , Catholic and apostolic church , '' Zhang said . `` We are in total union with the Holy See in terms of liturgy , theology , holy communion and rites . `` As a Chinese priest , we love our country , the motherland . We are law-abiding . '' China today remains largely atheist under the rule of the Communist Party . Even so , churches like Zhang 's have been attracting old believers and new converts . China 's State Administration for Religious Affairs says some six million Chinese Catholics attend services in government-sanctioned churches , but others practice their faith in secret -- in Catholic churches outside government control . `` Many of them are still going to the underground churches , '' said Father Zhang . Experts say millions worship in underground churches -- so-called `` house-churches '' that are fiercely loyal to the Vatican and disagree with government restrictions and periodic crackdowns . After the 1949 revolution , the ruling Communist Party denounced religion as the `` opiate '' of the masses . China cut off ties with the Vatican in 1951 and the two sides have been estranged ever since . Religious persecution reached a crescendo during the chaotic Cultural Revolution ( 1966-76 ) , when clergy and laymen alike were persecuted , jailed and even killed . In the early 1970s , I remember walking by what looked like churches in central Beijing . They were padlocked or used as workshops or warehouses . Religion remained taboo . A few years after Chairman Mao 's death in 1976 , China reopened `` patriotic churches '' where people can practice religion under government control . More than thirty years of reform has turned China into the second biggest economy in the world . It also has one of the fastest growing Christian communities in the world . With less strict adherence to communist ideology , many Chinese appeared spirtually adrift , looking for a value system on which to anchor their lives as they cope with rampant materialism , money-worship and widespread corruption . Many turn to religion for solace . `` They are looking for peace and stability , for spiritual purification , '' said Father Zhang . Last autumn , I watched Zhang preside over an elaborate wedding of 62 couples from across China . Most were newly married ; others were older couples renewing their vows . I asked one groom , a white-collar worker in Beijing , `` Why turn Catholic ? '' `` Religion helps people , young and old , draw a red line between what is moral and proper , and what is not , '' he answered . Zhang says local officials approve of religion too because it helps improve social stability . `` It promotes social harmony , '' echoing the Chinese leadership 's political slogan . China says citizens now enjoy religious freedom , as enshrined in the constitution -- but it comes with caveats . The regulations , Human Rights Watch notes , require that religious organizations and believers must `` safeguard the nation 's unity , ethnic solidarity , and social stability '' and eschew `` foreign domination . '' Religious activities should observe the constitution , laws and regulations , and safeguard the nation 's unity , ethnic solidarity , and social stability . No organizations or individuals should interfere with the state 's administration , the judiciary , or education . International rights groups complain that Chinese officials continue to detain religious believers , close religious sites , and impose arbitrary restrictions . Over the past eight years during Pope Benedict 's papacy , the two sides have made attempts to break the impasse but only with modest success . In 2005 , Pope Benedict met with members of the China Disabled People 's Arts Troupe who were touring Rome at the time . In a pastoral letter issued on May 20 , 2007 , the pope expressed understanding about the complicated situation of the church in China and offered guidelines for pastoral life . He expressed a `` willingness to engage in respectful and constructive dialogue '' with China , while calling for defense of the doctrines and tradition of the Catholic Church . The pope , in the letter , also dedicated May 24 as a day of prayer for the church in China - and in the same year set up a special commission on affairs related to the church in the country . In 2008 , the Chinese Philharmonic Orchestra and the Shanghai Opera House Chorus visited the Vatican and performed in front of the pope . It was hailed as an ice-breaking event . Still , major sticking points remain . While China may allow Chinese Catholics to practice their faith and accept the pope 's spiritual leadership , it also tells the Vatican not to `` interfere in China 's internal affairs , '' including the matter of ordaining Chinese bishops . China in recent years has ordained new bishops without the pope 's approval , stalling efforts of restoring diplomatic relations between China and the Vatican . Many local Catholics , caught in the middle , say they hope the government will respect the universal traditions of the Vatican . At the same time , they hope the Vatican can better understand the church in China and reach reconciliation with Beijing . `` We follow China and we also follow the Roman Catholic way , '' said Father Zhang , who for years attended an underground church before joining the mainstream `` patriotic church . '' But no breakthroughs are expected any time soon . The incoming pope will have little room to tweak the `` ambiguous but still conservative line '' pursued by Pope Benedict because the hardliners in the Vatican are simply too strong , said one analyst who spoke to CNN on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity surrounding religious issues in China . If the new pope takes a more conciliatory line on China , he added , his credibility could be questioned by the hardliners . Chinese communist leaders , on the other hand , are still struggling with how to deal with this unpredictable religious boom .
the Chinese Philharmonic Orchestra and government authorities uneasily coexist in Beijing . millions Chinese attend government-sanctioned churches . Experts say More than six million more practice Catholicism in underground `` house-churches '' Chinese Catholics hope the next pope can reconcile church 's differences with Beijing .