The Pope has addressed Chinese Catholics for the first time during his four-day visit as he celebrates mass in Mongolia.
The crackdown targeting Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region has been especially fierce, with claims that more than 1 million ethnic minority members were forcibly sent to prison-like re-education centres where many have said they were tortured, sexually assaulted, and forced to abandon their language and religion.
He presided over an interfaith event with Mongolian shamans, Buddhist monks, Muslim, Jewish, Shinto leaders and a Russian Orthodox priest. "The fact that we are meeting together in one place already sends a message: It shows that the religious traditions, for all their distinctiveness and diversity, have impressive potential for the benefit of society as a whole," Pope Francis said.
Hong Kong Cardinal-elect Chow, who made a historic visit to Beijing earlier this year, accompanied 40 pilgrims to Mongolia. The pope did send a telegram of greeting to President Xi Jinping as his aircraft flew through Chinese airspace, offering him "divine blessings of unity and peace."
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