Roving Periscope: Pope Francis asks Chinese Catholics to be “good Christians”
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Wrapping up his four-day visit to Mongolia, Pope Francis has appealed to Chinese Catholics to be “good Christians, good citizens” in what is viewed as indirect guidance to his faithful in China, which has been “Sinicizing” Christianity for decades, to reaffirm their religion.
Mongolia has only about 1,500 Catholics vis-à-vis China’s over 12 million.
Pope Francis, 86, flanked by Hong Kong’s Bishop Stephen Chow and Bishop Emeritus Cardinal John Tong Hon—who joined him to ‘send a warm greeting to the noble Chinese people”– made the appeal in a Sunday Mass in the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar. Many Chinese Catholics had traveled to the neighboring country to attend the mass, the media reported on Monday.
Amid the allegations of China’s persecution of Christians, the Vatican and Beijing have had no official diplomatic relations for over 70 years as Beijing’s relations with the global head of Catholics have remained tense over the treatment meted out to the faithful in an officially-atheist Communist-run country.
The two sides had even signed an agreement on this matter in 2018 but little changed as China went ahead with its “Sinicization” policy to manipulate churches, mosques, and holy books, to fit into the overall Communist ecosystem.
Hong Kong Bishop Stephen Chow became the first senior Catholic leader in over 30 years to visit Beijing in April 2023.
“To the people, I wish the best,” said the Pope. “To Chinese Catholics, I ask you to be good Christians and good citizens.”
The media also reported some Chinese Catholics’ suffering, and their life in China, made difficult by oppressive official policies. A woman said two organizers of her group’s pilgrimage had been detained in China.
Beijing has continued to ‘appoint’ bishops without the Vatican’s approval as part of its “Sinicization” drive designed to ensure Christians’ obedience only to the ruling Communist Party.
In April, Beijing appointed a new bishop for Shanghai, the country’s biggest diocese.
The Pope’s phrase –“good Christians and good citizens” – is what he had also used about Vietnam, which, in July upgraded relations by allowing the Vatican to have a resident papal representative in Hanoi. The Vatican has asked China to allow a similar office in Beijing.
Chow, who will be made a cardinal by the Pope this month, said at a papal event on Saturday that he hoped the church in Hong Kong could be a “bridge” with mainland China.
Calling himself a “pilgrim of friendship”, Pope Francis extolled Mongolia’s virtues during his visit but warned of the dangers of corruption and environmental degradation, two major challenges faced by the Asian nation, the reports said.
The Mongolian capital suffers from some of the world’s worst air quality and an embezzlement scandal sparked mass street protests in 2023.
Vast swathes of the country are also at risk of desertification because of climate change, overgrazing, and mining.
