Pope Francis has not ruled out a meeting with the Dalai Lama
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Pope Francis has told a group of journalists that a date has now been set for a meeting with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, quashing speculation that his former decision not to meet His Holiness was due to fear of upsetting China.
The Pope did not meet the Dalai Lama when he was in Rome for last month’s Nobel Laureates summit and there were reports of the Vatican’s concern about a potentially furious reaction from China to a meeting between the Pope and the Dalai Lama, and that this could damage their developing relationship with Beijing, There were also concerns about persecution against China’s Catholic community.
China has hinted that if a meeting between the Vatican and His Holiness were to take place, ties between the papacy and the Chinese government could possibly suffer. The Papacy has not maintained diplomatic ties with China since Chairman Mao cut them back in 1951. China has, in the past, stated that the Vatican should fully recognise the governance of the People’s Republic of China by severing the diplomatic relationship the papacy shares with Taiwan.
Responding to the speculation, Pope Francis stated, “The usual protocol of the secretary of state is not to receive heads of state and high ranking personalities when they are in Rome for an international meeting. Some newspapers said that I did not meet with [His Holiness] out of fear of China. This is not true. He asked for an audience some time ago. A date has been fixed. But not for the moment. We are in contact.”
In a telegram sent to China’s president Xi Jinping, Pope Francis remarked, “I assure you of my prayers for you and the people of China, invoking abundant blessings of harmony and prosperity.”
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