Pope Francis this Saturday in Mongolia defended that governments “have nothing to fear” from the Catholic Church, in a remark reportedly aimed at China.
‘The government’s […] have nothing to fear from the Church’s evangelizing action, because the Church has no political agenda to follow,” Francis said at Ulan Bator Cathedral, quoted by the French agency AFP.
China, which borders Mongolia, does not recognize the pope’s authority over the country’s Catholics, who are subordinate to the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, a state body founded in 1957.
China also does not maintain diplomatic relations with the Vatican, the only state in Europe to have formal ties with Taiwan.
Beijing considers Taiwan a province of China and threatens to invade the island if Taipei declares independence.
Despite the conflicts, The Vatican and China last year renewed an agreement on the appointment of Chinese bishops.
On the huge Sukhbaatar Square, where the heart of Mongol power is located in Ulan Bator, more than a thousand worshipers and spectators waited for the Pope’s arrival.
To avoid being identified, many Chinese crossing the border to see the pope covered their heads and hid their faces behind surgical masks and sunglasses.
“We must remain discreet and especially not say that we are here for the pope,” said a Chinese woman who preferred not to be named.
“Many Catholics in China wanted to come, but couldn’t. We are blessed,” said another Chinese man, who also asked not to be identified for fear of reprisals in China.
Francis arrived in Mongolia on Friday, although he rested on the first day of the nearly ten-hour journey.
In the landlocked country between Russia and China, the pope was received on a red carpet by Mongolian knights paraded in metal armour.
With only 1,400 believers among its more than 3.3 million inhabitants, mostly Buddhists, Mongolia has one of the smallest Catholic communities in the world.
The Church in Mongolia practically came into existence in 1992, after the fall of communism, in a country where 300 people were baptized 20 years ago, according to the Spanish agency EFE.
At St. Peter and Paul’s Cathedral, whose round nave resembles a traditional tent for Mongolian nomads, Francisco praised the fact that many inhabitants have lived in harmony with nature for centuries.
At the same time, he called for more efforts to protect the environment in the Asian country and in the world.
The 86-year-old pope called for “an urgent and now unavoidable commitment to protect planet Earth”.
Mongolia is one of the world’s largest coal exporters, and the air in the capital Ulan Bator is regularly among the most polluted in the world.
Large parts of the country are also threatened with desertification due to climate change, overgrazing and mining.
Francis has also condemned corruption against the rulers of Mongolia, where a major scandal in the mining industry in December led to large-scale demonstrations.
Corruption represents “a serious threat to the development of all human groups, fueled by a utilitarian and unscrupulous mentality that impoverishes entire countries,” he warned.
Source: DN
