Pompeo Objected to the Sino-Vatican Agreement. Pope Francis Refused to Meet Pompeo
An Italian media reported the refusal of Pope Francis to meet with the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, claiming to fear of affecting the upcoming U.S. elections. This act may threaten to strain relations between the United States and the Vatican.
Pompeo's European trip started on Sunday with a stop at the Vatican, where he would reportedly meet the pope with an objection to the renewal of the Vatican's provisional agreement with China on the appointment of bishops (The 2018 Holy See-China Agreement), which expires next month. He wrote to Catholic journals earlier and posted a series of tweets arguing that the Vatican should not extend the agreement to avoid endangering its moral authority.
The Italian newspaper La Repubblica reported last week that the pope refused to meet with Pompeo because of the upcoming U.S. elections but that Pompeo would still meet with the Vatican's Secretary for Relations with States, Paul Gallagher. However, there might have another reason that Pompeo urged the Vatican to abandon the agreement with China to extend the appointment of bishops. A State Department official also said that Pompeo would use his visit to Europe to discuss various issues with the Vatican, including concerns about religious freedom in China, such as Beijing's oppression of religious minorities and the plight of Chinese Catholics. He was expected to mention related issues in the forum speech.
#US #Vatican #China #Pompeo #thePope #PopeFrancis #PaulGallagher #PompeoEuropeTrip #2018HolySeeChinaAgreement #VaticanChinaRelation
Source: Apple Daily #Sep28
https://hk.appledaily.com/international/20200928/UMPXV4G4IFG6VM2IIF3NEDYGTQ/
An Italian media reported the refusal of Pope Francis to meet with the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, claiming to fear of affecting the upcoming U.S. elections. This act may threaten to strain relations between the United States and the Vatican.
Pompeo's European trip started on Sunday with a stop at the Vatican, where he would reportedly meet the pope with an objection to the renewal of the Vatican's provisional agreement with China on the appointment of bishops (The 2018 Holy See-China Agreement), which expires next month. He wrote to Catholic journals earlier and posted a series of tweets arguing that the Vatican should not extend the agreement to avoid endangering its moral authority.
The Italian newspaper La Repubblica reported last week that the pope refused to meet with Pompeo because of the upcoming U.S. elections but that Pompeo would still meet with the Vatican's Secretary for Relations with States, Paul Gallagher. However, there might have another reason that Pompeo urged the Vatican to abandon the agreement with China to extend the appointment of bishops. A State Department official also said that Pompeo would use his visit to Europe to discuss various issues with the Vatican, including concerns about religious freedom in China, such as Beijing's oppression of religious minorities and the plight of Chinese Catholics. He was expected to mention related issues in the forum speech.
#US #Vatican #China #Pompeo #thePope #PopeFrancis #PaulGallagher #PompeoEuropeTrip #2018HolySeeChinaAgreement #VaticanChinaRelation
Source: Apple Daily #Sep28
https://hk.appledaily.com/international/20200928/UMPXV4G4IFG6VM2IIF3NEDYGTQ/