Pope Francis Declines to Meet Mike Pompeo After Secretary of State Slams Vatican-China Ties – Report
The Pope was to meet the US top diplomat to discuss the would-be renewal of the Vatican-China deal, which oversees the procedure of appointment of Chinese bishops.
Pope Francis announced Sunday that he will not meet US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who is going on a formal visit this week, for fear it “could influence the US election campaign” and in order to “avoid any kind of manipulation”, Italian newspaper La Repubblica reported, citing the pontiff’s office.
The development comes after the top US diplomat was recently vocal in his criticism of the Vatican’s ties with China. Francis and Pompeo have been planning a meeting regarding whether or not to renew a deal, whereby the Vatican approves the bishops appointed by China’s Catholic branch.
Pompeo has argued the Vatican should by no means do it, citing the alleged religious persecution of Xinjiang Muslims, which the politician rushed to accuse Xi Jinping’s government of.