Pope Francis continues to keep his eyes on China. He recently expressed his desire to go to the country and even knows where he would specifically like to visit.
You have expressed your interest, your desire, to make an apostolic visit to China?
-I'm looking forward to it!
If this wish of yours comes true, what places in China would you like to visit?
-Well, to the Mother, to SheShan…
This is what the Pope told Jesuit Peter Chia of the Chinese Province of the Society of Jesus. Should this wish come true, the Pope said he would like to meet with the Chinese bishops.
These statements of the pope are not new. He has said it on several occasions. Even the Vatican Secretary of State shared them with the press at the end of June, saying that the Pope wanted to go to China, but the conditions were not in place at the moment.
As for the Vatican-China agreement on the appointment of bishops, which was signed for the first time in 2018, Cardinal Parolin also assured that it will be renewed at the end of the year.
In his recent interview, the pope did not only talk about China. He was also asked about the criticism and resistance he has received during his pontificate.
POPE FRANCIS
Well, sometimes you have to wait, hold on…. And many times, you have to correct yourself. Behind a resistance, there can be a good criticism. And also with pain because, sometimes, the resistance, as it happens at the moment, is not only against me; it is against the Church. For example, there is a group, a few people, who only recognize up to Pius XII and the popes after him no longer….
With these words, Francis referred to those known as "sedevacantists" and assured that with time these groups will be integrated.
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