Prior to his visit to Mongolia, Pope Francis had comments attributed to him from World Youth Day wherein he launched a stinging attack on US Conservatives.
The attack was delayed in being published by a number of weeks, but it could not have been timed better, assuming that the Vatican looks at geopolitics in an intentional manner rather than ad hoc.
Such an an attack on the United States will not have gone unnoticed in China, which was required to grant airspace to the papal plane in order for it to reach Mongolia.
During the flight, Pope Francis sent greetings to Emperor Xi Jinping and to the Chinese people.
No doubt, the 1,000 Mongolian Catholics will have been moved by Pope Francis’s efforts to visit them, but his overtures towards China are more significant for the world at large.
Today, he stood alongside two bishops from Hong Kong, saying:
These two brother bishops - the emeritus of Hong Kong and the current bishop of Hong Kong. I would like to take advantage of their presence to send a warm greeting to the noble Chinese people.
I wish the best for all the Chinese people, to go forward, to always progress. And to Chinese Catholics I ask to be good Christians and good citizens.
Chinese citizens were banned from attending, yet many made the visit regardless, wearing masks to conceal their identities.
The next pope will have to contend with a China that has mad a mockery of the Sino Vatican deal and that is becoming increasingly strategic in its dealings with the West.
One can only hope and pray that a future papal visit to Beijing could be on the cards.
