I agree completely with Abp. Tutu. I am very disappointed, even deeply disturbed, over this political move by Pope Francis. For sure, I am very concerned over the fate of all the suffering Catholics of China. But this looks too much like Pope Pius XII refusing to speak out about the Nazi persecution of Jews and other minorities becuase he was worried about the negative effects that might have on the Catholics of Germany. We all know that the Chinese Communist party/government has a real blind spot about the Tibetans, and so mercilessly persecutes them, as with the Uyghurs of Xinjiang also. The way Pope Francis has dealt with this -- putting his own adherents before others -- is not the way Jesus would have dealt with it, in my opiniion. Archbishop Tutu urges pope to rethink decision not to meet Dalai Lama Says he is deeply saddened the Holy Father has declined to meet the Tibetan spiritual leader Archbishop Desmond Tutu (Picture: s_bukley / Shutterstock) • AFP, Johannesburg • December 17, 2014 South Africas Archbishop Desmond Tutu Monday appealed to Pope Francis to reconsider his decision not to meet the Dalai Lama during his visit to Rome. I am deeply saddened and distressed that the Holy Father, Pope Francis, should give in to these pressures and decline to meet the Dalai Lama, Tutu said in a statement. The Dalai Lama arrived in the Italian capital Friday for a summit of Nobel peace laureates. The event was moved to Italy from South Africa after the Pretoria government, anxious to foster economic ties with Beijing, declined to issue a visa for the 79-year-old Tibetan leader. Tutu said he was aware of the dilemma in which so many have been finding themselves with regard to their relationships with His Holiness and the Peoples Republic of China. It was revealed on Thursday that the pope would not be meeting the exiled spiritual leader. Tutu has previously criticized the South African government for blocking the Dalai Lamas visits. He said the Dalai Lama was a holy man who speaks about peace, co-existence and compassion. The outspoken Nobel Peace Prize laureate last week canceled all his travel plans for the rest of the year to embark on a new treatment for the prostate cancer hes been living with for the past 15 years. Tutu had also been scheduled to attend the Rome gathering, but said he would have boycotted meeting the pope if given an opportunity. I would not have been able to do so (meet the pope) in solidarity with someone held in such high regard by so many people across the world. AFP
Posted on: Thu, 18 Dec 2014 02:58:24 +0000