Pope Francis on Sunday sent greetings to China, calling its citizens a 'noble' people and asking Catholics in China to be 'good Christians and good citizens,' in his latest overture to the communist country to ease restrictions on religion.
Pope Francis stands with Cardinal John Tong Hon and Hong Kong's Archbishop Stephen Chow as he attends the Holy Mass in the Steppe Arena, during his Apostolic Journey in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia September 3, 2023.
"I wish the best for all the people, to go forward, to always progress. And to Chinese Catholics I ask to be good Christians and good citizens," he said.where he and just about the entire Catholic population of a country were in the same room. The phrase used by the pope on Sunday - "good Christians and good citizens" - is one the Vatican uses frequently in trying to convince communist governments that giving Catholics more freedom would only help their countries' social and economic progression.
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