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Pope Francis is also pontiff of the peoples that inhabit the “existential-economic peripheries”. And among these populations we can include Uyghurs, Islamic minority residing in Xinjiang, a region of the People’s Republic of China. A few days ago, Jorge Mario Bergoglio used this adjective towards the Islamic faithful living in northwestern China: “persecuted.” Beijing – as relayed by the agency New star – He responded through the statements of the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Zhao Lijian. And the answer cannot be included in the list of “good offices” that have accompanied the two geopolitical realities of this matter in recent years.
The Holy Father’s words were considered unfounded: the Chinese authorities wanted to underline their opposition to the official nature of the case. The question is complex, if only because all of this is happening while the Holy See and China they are preparing to sign, unless they think about it again, the renewal of the historic agreement for the appointment of bishops (and for the recognition of the spiritual legitimacy of the Bishop of Rome in the Asian nation). However, as Emanuel Pietrobon explains, we are not facing a diplomatic crisis between the Vatican and the People’s Republic. Francis is the pontiff who dedicated words of honey to Beijing, admitting that he dreams of a trip to the capital of the nation ruled by Xi Jinping. An apostolic visitation that would constitute a unicum. Bergoglio, especially due to the pandemic and its consequences, has not yet been able to carry out the project, which, however, has not been repealed.
That pact, the agreement between China and the Vatican, is the flagship of the strategy of diplomatic multilateralism. Pope Francis and Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin have defended the agreement with China from biannual criticism from traditionalists: the Vatican is convinced that the pact serves to protect millions of Chinese Catholics; the ecclesiastical right would have preferred to avoid the creation of any synergy and interpret the novelty as a badly reasoned geopolitical movement. The position of Pope Francis on the Uyghurs, in retrospect, is framed within the typical pastoral options of this kingdom: in 2017, the bishop of Rome sided in defense of the Rohingya, another Muslim minority living in Myanmar.
The “peoples” that Pope Francis looks at
According to the interpretation of the Vatican expert Sandro Magister, Jorge Mario Bergoglio It does not mention towns at random, but picks them: “The Pope identifies them with the multitude of marginalized from whom the Pope sees ‘that torrent of moral energy that arises from the participation of the excluded in the construction of the destiny of the planet.’ Bergoglio, therefore, would go in search of a “mythical people”, which would be made up of many experiences of individual identity and who for the Holy Father is the victim of what he calls the “economy of waste.” An attitude – this one of “waste” – that would go beyond the economy, to launch itself into bioethical macro problems such as abortion. Another interpretation that conservatives criticize, because it would fuel “confusion” among Catholics, confusing precisely the level of practicality, which is economic, with that of non-negotiable values.
Ultimately, the Pope – say the critics -, as a result of these “preferences”, would forget the now secularized West, but not the religious and non-religious minorities, such as the Uyghurs. What is the argument of the “anti-Bergoglians”? In general, critics say that the Pope is not interested in persecuted Christians: the bishop of Rome would focus more on these populations, even if they belong to religious denominations other than Christian-Catholic. The problem would be entirely within the pastoral priorities. In fact, the first South American pontiff in history has repeatedly cited the drama of persecuted Christians in his speeches but, even here, opponents would like more communicative clarity, as well as a growing focus on the “neighbor.” , than for conservatives. it is first “Christian” and then everything else.
How many Christians are persecuted in the world
Present an accurate calculation of the persecuted christians in the world it is not a simple operation. Every year some reports try to photograph the world situation. Some of the nations where the persecutions take place are also not easily accessible journalistically. Therefore, it is necessary to trust the work of associations, organizations or realities that deal specifically with how those who profess the Christian faith are treated in the world. Silvio Dalla Valle, consulted by IlGiornale.it, is part of the Luci sull’Est association, which has built a true “Observatory of Christianophobia”. “It is difficult – Dalla Valle begins – be sure of the number of persecuted Christians in the world. ” Yes, because first of all we have to work with some distinctions: According to the authoritative report of Open Doors, the US agency that helps persecuted Christians, in the world there are more than 260 million persecuted Christians. However, we must distinguish between the different types of persecution. The bloody one – according to Open Doors in 2019 was 2,983 Christians murdered for faith – and without blood “. Therefore, the persecution of Christians must be broken down by type, but the numbers, in any case, tell a tragedy.
The latest evidence published by Help the Church in Need they are more than worrying. According to these data, Christians have never been persecuted as in this historical period. Think of the young women forced into marriage after an equally forced conversion process: how many are there? Difficult to show accurate numbers. We know that the phenomenon exists, as in Pakistan, where the issue of “girl brides” has arisen. Are there nations where submerged tragedies have taken root? In Pakistan sometimes it goes to trial, but the feeling is that the drama of the persecuted Christians is more extensive than it seems: “The last – Dalla Valle tells us, referring to the “bloodless” persecution – It affects, according to the Pontifical Foundation Aid to the Church in Need, more than 300 million Christians who live in a land of persecution. These Christians suffer humiliation, harassment, in many cases they are unjustly accused of the so-called crime of blasphemy and imprisoned. Many times their houses are destroyed and they are forced to abandon their villages. Even more serious are the abducted and disappeared girls, many of them forced to “convert” and marry their torturer. ” Statistics do not have the ability to be exhaustive.
Who are the Uyghurs
The people Bergoglio most recently referred to as “persecuted” are not one of many: they are particular. There is, in the Pope’s movement, a component historicalIn other words, a real break with what might be expected under the renewed relations between the Holy See and China. And the Jesuit is undoubtedly a bishop capable of surprising, as he has shown on several occasions during these seven and a half years of stay on the throne of Peter. No pope before the Argentine had brought to light the history of the Uyghurs of northwest China. Bergoglio has said in the past that he was concerned about the situation in Hong Kong, but for traditionalists, the warnings from Peter’s successor about what is happening in those parts of the world are never enough. The question then becomes rhetorical, as well as spontaneous: why are the Uighurs yes and the Christian repression by the Chinese – the one aired, for example, by the conservative Cardinal and former Archbishop of Hong Kong Joseph Zen – no?
Father Abbot Guy Labrador, a French priest expert in Islam, and today committed to leading Catholics clamoring for freedom of worship within the framework of restrictions imposed in the Alps due to the spread of Sars-Cov2, helped us to focus on the ancient problem of the Uyghurs, explaining: “Mainly – He declared, taking into account the point of view of the consecrated person, that he is considered conservative – Sunni Muslims, Uighurs are a Turkish-speaking people of 25 million people, half of whom live in China. His separatist project now has the support of the Turkestan Islamic Party (PIT), classified as a ‘terrorist organization’ by the UN in 2003, which aims to create an Islamic state, which does not prevent its jihadists from fighting by the thousands in Syria. , with the help of suicide bombers and child soldiers. China is re-educating them to prevent their many attacks. ” So China would actually be preventing. And this sensitivity of the pontiff, once again, could be interpreted as a hand extended towards the Islamic religion, specifically towards the Sunni hemisphere.
Francesco’s choice
So why did Francis opt for such an unusual choice compared to the diplomatic context started with the Chinese giant? The Secretary of State of the United States Mike pompeor was quick to say “grateful” to the Holy Father for his stance on the Uyghurs.
Pompeo strongly opposes the agreement between China and the Vatican. The last time he went to Italy, the member of the administration headed by Donald Trump, who is now out of office after the presidential results, even asked the Holy See not to renew that pact to maintain “moral authority.” that the Vatican can boast in the world forum. Everything indicates that this tear on the Uyghurs is not destined to affect the good offices that exist between the holy palaces and Beijing, but without a doubt Francis’s strategy on the Islamic minority has also provoked the discussion of those who deal with persecuted Christians .
Like Silvio Dalla Valle, who told us the following about this point: “I cannot answer why Pope Francis remembered the persecuted Islamic minority in China and is not very attentive, at least in appearance, to the persecution of Christians in the world. This attitude of Pope Francis is, however, disconcerting and surprising, we hope. an explanation is provided. “
