Speaking on way back from Central Asia, Pontiff risks alienating loyal Catholics

Pope Francis spoke to reporters on a wide range of topics as he returned from Kazakhstan, discussing the war in Ukraine, immigration to Europe, China and Nicaragua. While for some, the Pope may have contradicted himself (having earlier this week said that God does not guide religions towards war, the Pontiff said, in reference to arming Ukraine, that it “is a political decision, which can be moral – morally acceptable – if it is done according to the conditions of morality”), this “just war” logic was reconcilable with his earlier statement. Indeed, the Pontiff said arming Ukraine could “be immoral if it is done with the intention of provoking more war or selling weapons”. He added: “To defend oneself is not only lawful but also an expression of love of country.” 

Where things got trickier perhaps were in later questions. Asked, for instance, about a red line on talking to Russia, Francis said “we must extend the opportunity for dialogue to everyone”, since “there is always the possibility that in dialogue we can change things, and also offer another point of view, another point of consideration. I don’t exclude dialogue with any power, whether it’s at war, whether it’s the aggressor… sometimes dialogue has to be done in this manner, but it has to be done; it “stinks”, but it has to be done.”

Discussing immigration and Europe, the Pope may well have angered traditionalists in central and eastern Europe (the only part of Europe where Catholicism is thriving), by asking: “What has the West lost in forgetting to welcome, when it needs people? When you think about the demographic winter that we have: it needs people”. He then asked: “why not make a policy of the West where immigrants are included with the principle that the migrant should be welcomed, accompanied, promoted, and integrated?”. Pope Francis cited his own country, Argentina, with its “mixed blood” being an “experience” which “has helped us so much”. 

The Pope went on to say “migration I think at this time should be taken seriously, because it raises the intellectual and congenial value of the West a little bit.” The Pope risks alienating Hungary and Poland, in particular – as well as US-based “trads” – with his talk of “the danger of populism”, before extolling “the values of the founding fathers who founded the European Union”. This, after Poland’s ruling Law and Justice Party chairman, Jarosław Kaczyński, recently said “western Europe is culturally alien to us”, while describing the EU as a culturally alien project.

While briefly touching upon the wrongs of euthanasia, the Pope moved on to the contentious issues of China and Nicaragua, where Catholics are facing persecution. The Pope has come in for particular criticism for his accommodation towards the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) over a 2018 deal, renewed once already in 2020, and set to be renewed again. Despite rumours that Pope Francis would meet CCP leader Xi Jinping, who was also in Kazakhstan at the same time as the Pontiff, the meeting did not go ahead. That said, just days ago, the Pope said he is willing to go to China.

More importantly, the Pope – who recently said he hoped the deal with the CCP could be renewed – is likely to have disappointed those looking for a change in policy. He told reporters: “The Chinese mentality is a rich mentality, and when it gets a little sick, it loses its richness; it is capable of making mistakes. In order to understand we have chosen the path of dialogue, open to dialogue. There is a bilateral Vatican-Chinese commission that is going well, slowly, because the Chinese pace is slow, they have an eternity to go forward.” 

This is a debatable assessment of the CCP. More worryingly, though, the Pontiff stated: “It is not easy to understand the Chinese mentality, but it should be respected”. Despite ongoing criticism of Cardinal Pietro Parolin – key to the deal with the CCP, and someone who Cardinal Joseph Zen (set to be put on trial shortly in Hong Kong) thinks is “manipulating” the Pope and may be acting out of “vainglory”, according to an interview with New Bloom Magazine – the Pope not only said “there is a dialogue commission that is going well”, but that Parolin “is the person right now who knows the most about China and dialogue with the Chinese.” 

This could be interpreted as a slap in the face for Zen, who many have come to see as a bargaining chip in the renewal of the deal. The Pope even said he does “not identify with” designating China as undemocratic “because it’s such a complex country”. Touching on Zen’s trial, the Pope said, “he says what he feels, and you can see that there are limitations there.” 

Turning to the situation in Nicaragua – where the Vatican’s response has also been seen as disappointing given the repression of Catholics, especially Rolando Álvarez – the Pope said: “There is dialogue”, even though this “doesn’t mean you approve of everything the government does”. For many critics however, the Pope risks undermining the moral authority of the Church: where he sees dialogue with China and Nicaragua, others will see submission.

Finally, the Pope was asked about the decline of faith in Europe, especially among the young. Here, Francis could have touched upon the fact the Church is thriving in traditionalist Hungary and Poland, and young Catholics and new converts are attracted by the Latin Mass which he arguably helped to undermine. Instead, the Pope talked about consistency, and the greater focus on “money, development, pastoral plans and not pastoral care” which “doesn’t attract people”. This, despite the evidence that what does not attract people is a focus on social justice to the exclusion of moral values (something which has seen the Church decline in Latin America), or greater moral relativism.

Pope Francis appeared to set himself up against the very Catholics who are keeping the faith alive: central and eastern Europeans and civilisational Christians, traditionalists who support the Latin Mass, and beleaguered Christian minorities up against repression. For many traditionalists, the Pope may have gone too far, with his words irreconcilable with their own values. On immigration, China, Nicaragua, and elsewhere, the Pope seems to be out of step with some of the loyalist members of the Church he leads.

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