Pope Francis on his way to Mongolia sent a telegram to Chinese President Xi Jinping while flying over Chinese territory, the press service of the Holy See said.
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“I send greetings and good wishes to Your Excellency and the people of China as I pass through the airspace of your country on the way to Mongolia. Assuring you of my prayers for the well-being of the nation, I invoke the divine blessings of unity and peace on all of you,” the pontiff’s message says.
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In addition to Xi Jinping, greetings were sent to the leaders of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.
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There are no full-fledged diplomatic relations between China and the Holy See. Their establishment is complicated by the fact that the Vatican recognizes Taiwan. The island has formal ties with only 13 countries, including the papal state.
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In September 2018, the Holy See and China signed a so-called “interim agreement” on the appointment of bishops. The validity of this document has already been extended twice – in October 2020 and 2022. The agreement concerns exclusively the process of appointing bishops, which is a very serious issue for the life of the Catholic Church in China. According to the Vatican, the purpose of this agreement is for Chinese Catholics to have bishops who are in full communion with the Pope and at the same time recognized by the Chinese authorities.
