Pope extends a conciliatory hand during his visit to Seoul
SOUTH KOREA
POPE Francis has made a new gesture to reach out to China and North Korea, saying he “earnestly” hopes to improve relations and insisting that the Catholic Church is not coming in as a “conqueror” trying to take away the identity of others.
Francis outlined his priorities for the Catholic Church in Asia during a meeting of the region’s bishops in Seoul, South Korea, urging them to listen to people of different cultures but still remain true to their own Catholic identity.
“In this spirit of openness to others, I earnestly hope those countries of your continent with whom the Holy See does not yet enjoy a full relationship may not hesitate to further a dialogue for the benefit of all,” he said.
Then, deviating from his text, he added: “I’m not talking here only about a political dialogue, but about a fraternal dialogue. These Christians aren’t coming as conquerors, they aren’t trying to take away our identity.”
The comments appeared to be a clear reference to China, which severed diplomatic relations with the Holy See in 1951.
But they could also apply to North Korea, where the church is under tight government control and is not recognised by the Vatican. There are similarly no diplomatic relations between Pyongyang and the Vatican.
Francis has already broken ground with Beijing on his first Asian trip by sending greetings to President Xi Jinping when he flew through Chinese airspace.