Pope's Opening to China Skips Over Religious Freedom

Crux ^ | 2/2/16 | John Allen Jr

[marshmallow]

On Tuesday, an exclusive interview with Pope Francis about China was published by the Asia Times, in which the pope urges the world not to fear growing Chinese power. It's likely to be hailed as a great opening, as well as another sign of keen Vatican interest in moving ever closer to normalized diplomatic relations with Beijing.

"The Catholic Church, one of whose duties is to respect all civilizations, before this civilization, I would say, has the duty to respect it with a capital 'R'," the pope said.

Yet there's a striking omission in the conversation between Francis and Italian journalist Francesco Sisci, a longtime correspondent in China, one that may be seen as disappointing by some of the pontiff's own flock in China: The country's record on religious freedom, including the difficulties facing its small but rapidly growing Christian minority.

Before getting to that, let's stipulate three points.

First, the Vatican's strategic decision to begin with respect and outreach vis-a-vis China, playing down potential flashpoints, hardly began under Pope Francis. It's been standing diplomatic policy for decades, reaching back at least to 1966 when Pope Paul VI sent a New Year's greeting to Chairman Mao without mentioning the cruelties of the Cultural Revolution.

[soycd]

It’s but A Hair on the Head of John the Baptist ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CATngmjRitI

[BlessedBeGod]

"The Catholic Church, one of whose duties is to respect all civilizations, before this civilization, I would say, has the duty to respect it with a capital 'R'," the pope said.

So, if you were the pope during the time of Nazi Germany, you would have respected Hitler?

Fool.