Angelus News | September 22, 2023, Vol. 8, Issue No. 19

On a diplomatic doorstep
In Mongolia, Pope Francis played goodwill
ambassador for the Catholic Church with an
eye on China and Russia’s influence.
BY ELISE ANN ALLEN
ROME — During his recent four-day trip to Mongolia,
Pope Francis played the role of Catholicism’s
goodwill ambassador, going to great lengths to sell
his hosts and other powerful regional leaders on all the
reasons it can be of benefit to society.
From the start, the pope’s Aug. 31-Sept. 4 trip to Mongolia
was seen as not only an opportunity to show pastoral
care and encouragement to one of the Catholic Church’s
smallest flocks (there are less than 1,500 Catholics in Mongolia)
but also to send a message to the country’s powerful
neighbors: Russia and China.
Since the beginning of his papacy, Francis has gone to
great lengths to bolster relations with both Chinese and
Russian authorities.
A controversial 2018 agreement on bishop appointments
between the Holy See and China was penned on his
Pope Francis and
Mongolian President
Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh
attend the official
welcoming ceremony for
the pope in Sükhbaatar
Square in Ulaanbaatar,
Mongolia, Sept. 2. |
CNS/LOLA GOMEZ
watch. More recently, his Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro
Parolin floated the proposal of establishing a permanent
liaison office in Beijing.
Meanwhile, since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine following
Russia’s invasion last February, the pope has sought
to establish regular dialogue with Russian authorities, and
in June sent his personal peace envoy for Ukraine, Italian
Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, to both Moscow and Kyiv in a bid
to carve out a path for an eventual cease-fire.
Francis’ trip to Mongolia marked the first papal visit to the
country, and the closest a pope has ever come physically to
either Russia or China.
In Mongolia, the pope flattered his hosts with his opening
speech to national authorities, containing what was essentially
an ode to Mongolia’s culture and natural beauty, as
well as their commitment to the environment, democracy,
and religious freedom following the fall of Soviet Communism
in 1992.
In a remark that seemed directed at the country’s Russian
neighbors, he expressed hope that “the dark clouds of war
be dispelled, swept away by the firm desire for a universal
fraternity wherein tensions are resolved through encounter
and dialogue.”
He also repeatedly referenced the Church’s social and
charitable initiatives as a reason why governments should
not be afraid of the Church, offered a special greeting to
the Chinese people, and hit back against criticism of his
outreach to China and Russia.
In a Sept. 3 address to missionaries and bishops, he stated
that Jesus did not send his disciples “to spread political
theories, but to bear witness by their lives to the newness of
his relationship with his Father.”
“The Church born of that mandate is a poor Church,
sustained only by genuine faith and by the unarmed and
disarming power of the risen Lord, and capable of alleviating
the sufferings of wounded humanity,” he said.
By pointing to examples of the Church’s social outreach,
the pope sought to offer reassurance to state leaders in
Mongolia, but also within China, that “they have nothing
to fear from the Church’s work of evangelization, for she
has no political agenda to advance, but is sustained by the
quiet power of God’s grace and a message of mercy and
truth, which is meant to promote the good of all.”
During his final Sept. 3 Mass in Ulaanbaatar’s Steppe
Arena, attended by some 2,000 people, including several
groups of Catholics from mainland China, Francis paused
at the end of the ceremony and offered a special greeting to
“the noble Chinese people.”
“To the entire people I wish the best, go forward, always
progress. And to the Chinese Catholics, I ask you to be
good Christians and good citizens,” he said.
On his return flight from Ulaanbaatar to Rome Sept. 4,
the pope fielded questions over criticism he has received
over his engagement with China and Russia, and the soft,
at times appeasing approach he has taken with both.
Some observers took issue with Francis’ greeting to the
Chinese and his instruction for Catholics on the mainland
to be “good citizens” given the government’s decision to
ban both faithful and bishops from attending papal events
in Mongolia, meaning many came under the radar and
sought to avoid all public and media attention, taking
measures to ensure they could not be identified.
Critics have also accused the pope of remaining silent on
human rights abuses and violations of religious freedom in
exchange for the 2018 deal, an agreement which Beijing
has violated on at least two occasions just this year.
Francis also got himself into hot water shortly before the
trip by praising the legacy of “Great Mother Russia” in a
video conference with Catholic youth, which generated
immediate blowback from Ukrainian Catholics and national
officials, who accused the pontiff of recycling Russian
“imperialist propaganda.”
During his inflight press conference, the pope rejected
criticism on both fronts, saying the Vatican enjoys a “very
respectful” relationship with China and praising Russia for
possessing a culture with “great beauty and depth.”
“Personally, I have a great admiration for the Chinese
culture, they are very open,” he said, saying, “we must
keep going forward in the religious aspect to understand
each other better so that the Chinese don’t think that the
Church doesn’t accept their culture or their values, and
that the Church depends on a different foreign power.”
He also rejected objections to his recent comments praising
Russia and historic leaders such as Catherine II and
Peter the Great, saying he always tells young people to embrace
their legacy, and that his reference to “Great Mother
Russia” was “was not so much geographic but cultural.”
Despite some “dark political years” in the country, the
pope said, “Russian culture must not be canceled because
of politics.”
Overall, the pope’s objective in Mongolia seemed determined
to help cement the Church’s footprint in this part
of the world, while making a down payment on future dialogue
with both China and Russia. The pope’s visit came
almost 800 years after the Holy See’s first contact with the
Mongol Empire. Following that precedent, no one in the
Vatican expects a papal visit to China
or Russia to unfold overnight.
Francis’ latest journey expressed
hope that sometimes the long and
difficult road of dialogue does pay
off. Though what exactly that means
for the Vatican’s currently tenuous
relationships with China and Russia is
yet to be seen.
Elise Ann Allen is the Senior Correspondent
for Crux in Rome.
A boy gives Pope Francis scarves as he arrives at the
headquarters of the Apostolic Prefecture of Ulaanbaatar,
Mongolia, Sept. 1. Cardinal Giorgio Marengo
(left) is the country’s apostolic prefect and the youngest
cardinal in the world. | CNS/VATICAN MEDIA
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