ROME — Pope Francis said Monday that the Vatican is walking a “friendly path” with China, insisting that “relations are moving forward” on both sides.
“The relationship with China is very respectful, very respectful. I personally have great admiration for the Chinese people,” the pontiff told reporters aboard the papal plane returning to Rome from Mongolia.
The pope was asked why he urged Chinese Catholics to be “good citizens” after Beijing denied permission for Chinese bishops to travel to Mongolia for the papal visit.
“The channels are very open – for the appointment of bishops there is a commission that has been working with the Chinese government and the Vatican for a long time,” the pope stated in reference to a 2018 accord between the Vatican and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on the naming of bishops.
Francis went on to underscore the fact that “there are many, or rather there are some, Catholic priests or Catholic intellectuals who are often invited to Chinese universities to offer courses” as evidence of Chinese goodwill toward the Church.
“I think we need to move forward in the religious aspect to understand each other better and so that Chinese citizens do not think that the Church does not accept their culture and values and that the Church is dependent on another, foreign power,” he added.
File/Pope Francis poses for a picture with faithful from China as he arrives for his weekly general audience on April 18, 2018, on St. Peter’s square in the Vatican. (TIZIANA FABI/AFP via Getty Images)
“This friendly path is well-followed by the Commission chaired by Cardinal Parolin: they are doing a good job, even on the Chinese side, relations are moving forward. I have great respect for the Chinese people,” he concluded.
Pope Francis has faced widespread criticism for his policy of appeasement with the CCP, demonstrated by his unwillingness to call out China’s egregious human rights violations toward the Uyghur Muslims and other groups.
“While the Vatican has reached a provisional agreement with China on the issue of episcopal appointments, reports of persecution by the Chinese government persist as underground churches are closed and their priests detained, crosses destroyed, bibles confiscated, and children under 18 forbidden from attending Mass and receiving religious instruction,” the U.S. bishops said in a 2020 communiqué.
“The case of Uyghur Muslims in China has been much publicized and with good reason,” the bishops’ website states. “It is estimated that over 1 million Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region of China have been detained in what the Chinese call ‘re-education’ camps but are basically prison camps.”
“Human rights groups have found credible evidence of Uyghurs being tortured, placed in solitary confinement, and subjected to forced labor,” the text continues. “For those not in the camps, the CCP uses extensive electronic surveillance (facial recognition, voice pattern sampling) and armed checkpoints to limit the movement of Uyghurs.”