The pope on Saturday called for more to be done to protect the environment and warned of corruption during an unprecedented visit to Mongolia, a young democracy wedged between Russia and China.
In Ulaanbaatar, the 86-year-old Pope was received on a red carpet, in front of the honor guard, dressed in the traditional blue, red and yellow suits.
“Long live the Pope!” an enthusiastic crowd chanted.
Mongolian President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh received the Jesuit Pope before an imposing bronze statue of Genghis Khan, in the vast Sukhbaatar Square, which houses the heart of Mongolian power.
Paying tribute to the Mongolian tradition of living in harmony with nature, Francis called for an “urgent and now inescapable commitment to protect planet Earth.”
Mongolia, one of the largest exporters of coal, has one of the most polluted capitals in the world.
The Pope also warned the leaders of Mongolia, where a huge scandal in the coal industry sparked mass demonstrations in December, against corruption.
Corruption represents “a serious threat to the development of all human groups, feeding on a utilitarian and unscrupulous mentality that impoverishes entire countries,” he stressed.
Francis’ visit attracted many pilgrims from other Asian countries, who also traveled to Mongolia to see the head of the Catholic Church.
Francis will meet the country’s small Catholic community at the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul, whose circular nave resembles the traditional tent of Mongolian nomads. There are only 25 priests and 33 nuns, only two of whom are Mongolians.
On Sunday, the pope will address an interfaith meeting, which the rector of the Russian Orthodox Church of Ulan Bator is expected to attend with a delegation, and then will preside over a mass at a newly built ice hockey arena.
The Vatican said it expected pilgrims from neighboring countries, including Russia, China, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan, to attend the Mass.
The Pope’s visit to Mongolia is a gesture of support for the small community of Catholics, numbering about 1,400 out of a population of more than three million.
But this trip, Francis’ second to the region in the space of a year, after his visit to Kazakhstan in September 2022, is also strategic from a geopolitical point of view.
Mongolia, once an integral part of Genghis Khan’s empire, depends on Russia for energy imports and on China for the export of raw materials, mainly coal.
But while it remains neutral in relation to its powerful neighbors, it has strengthened relations with other nations, particularly the United States, Japan and South Korea, in the interest of balance.
This makes Mongolia potentially useful for the Vatican’s relations with Beijing, with whom the Holy See last year renewed an agreement on the appointment of bishops, and with Moscow, with whom Francis has tried to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine. .
Source: TSF
