2023-09-02 04:29:00
Pope Francis called on Saturday to do more to protect the environment and warned against corruption, during an unprecedented trip to Mongolia, a young democracy landlocked between Russia and China.
Arrived the day before, the 86-year-old sovereign pontiff met on Saturday with the modest but active Catholic community of this Asian country with a Buddhist majority.
In Ulaanbaatar, the capital, the pope was welcomed on a red carpet in front of a hedge of the Mongolian honor guard, in traditional blue, red and yellow dress.
“Viva il Papa!” chanted an enthusiastic crowd.
The President of Mongolia, Ukhnaa Khurelsukh, received the Jesuit Pope in front of an imposing bronze statue of Genghis Khan, on the immense Sukhbaatar Square which houses the heart of Mongolian power.
Welcoming the Mongols’ tradition of living in harmony with nature, Francis advocated an “urgent and now unavoidable commitment to the protection of planet Earth”.
Mongolia, one of the biggest coal exporters, has one of the most polluted capitals in the world.
The pope also warned against corruption to leaders in Mongolia, where a major coal industry scandal sparked large protests in December.
Corruption represents “a serious threat to the development of any human group, feeding on a utilitarian and unscrupulous mentality which impoverishes entire countries”, estimated the sovereign pontiff.
“As if we see Jesus”
His trip is followed with passion by many pilgrims from other Asian countries who have also made the trip to Mongolia to try to catch a glimpse of the head of the Catholic Church, which has 1.3 billion faithful.
In the front row, behind a police cordon, Galina Krutilina, 62, came specially from Moscow with a friend to see the pope.
“We arrived an hour ago by train,” the Orthodox Russian, who wears a gold cross around her neck, told AFP.
After more than 6,000 kilometers of journey, “we are here because at the top of the mountain is God”, underlines Ms. Krutilina. “But there are many ways to get there.”
“It’s as if we were seeing Jesus,” says a Chinese tourist who came in a group “especially to see the pope”.
“Many Catholics in China wanted to come, but they couldn’t. We are blessed,” he told AFP, on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
Religion remains a sensitive subject in China. The ruling communist party is wary of any organization, particularly religious, that could threaten its authority. He has long been suspicious of the Vatican because of its potentially political influence on Chinese Catholics.
Diplomacy and geopolitics
Francis is to meet in the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, whose circular nave resembles the traditional tent of the nomads of Mongolia, the country’s small Catholic community. It has only 25 priests and 33 nuns, only two of whom are Mongols.
On Sunday, the pope will address an inter-religious meeting, which the rector of the Russian Orthodox Church of Ulaanbaatar is expected to attend with a delegation, and then preside over a Mass at a recently ice hockey arena. built.
Pilgrims from neighboring countries are expected to attend Mass, the Vatican said, including from Russia, China, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan.
This trip by the Pope to Mongolia is a gesture of support for the small community of Catholics which has around 1,400 faithful for more than three million inhabitants.
But this trip – Francis’s second to the region in a year after that of September 2022 to Kazakhstan – is also strategic from a geopolitical point of view.
Once an integral part of Genghis Khan’s empire, Mongolia depends on Russia for its energy imports and China for the export of its raw materials, mainly coal.
But while remaining neutral vis-à-vis its powerful neighbours, it has engaged in a “third neighbour” policy, strengthening its relations with other nations, notably the United States, Japan and South Korea. South, for the sake of balance.
This makes Mongolia potentially useful for the Vatican’s relations with Beijing, with whom the Holy See last year renewed an agreement on the thorny issue of bishop appointments, and with Moscow, with whom Francis has sought to negotiate the end of the war in Ukraine.
This trip to Mongolia is a test of endurance for the pope, who continues to travel a lot despite an abdominal hernia operated on in June and knee pain that forces him to move around in a wheelchair.
02/09/2023 05:30:54 – Ulaanbaatar (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
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