Pope Francis is making an Asia-Pacific tour that’s about more than spreading the word or connecting with the devout. It is a run-through for the ultimate prize the Roman Catholic Church covets: a visit to China.
By some estimates, the world’s second-largest economy is on track to have the biggest population of Christians by 2030. The pope has been keen to engage with the Chinese Communist Party, which has historically controlled the appointment of bishops in the country, independent of the Vatican. This has led to worries of a schism, one of the many reasons the pontiff wants to unify China’s Catholics.
His overtures come despite the nation’s worsening track record on religious freedoms. Any future outreach can’t downplay these concerns or compromise the Vatican’s diplomatic relations with Taiwan, one of the few remaining examples of recognition that the self-ruled island — which Beijing claims as its own — still has.
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