In an October 9 interview on The Hugh Hewitt Show, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the Holy See, as a powerful and influential force for the good of the world, should be taken seriously in the face of the tremendous oppression of religious freedom in China.
Pompeo appeared on Hewitt’s show, where they first discussed the new crown epidemic and the responsibility of the Beijing authorities. According to Hewitt, while the United States is leading the fight against the epidemic both at home and abroad, the latest Pew Research Center poll of public opinion on China in several developed countries shows that the majority of people in the countries surveyed have a negative view. Hewitt asked, “Is the Chinese Communist Party responsible for this nightmare, that they hid the epidemic, that they concealed it, and that they are still concealing it? Pompeo replied in the affirmative, noting that he had spoken with Hewitt on the program about Chinese officials disappearing journalists, disappearing doctors who had warned of the epidemic, and allowing large numbers of people to travel from Wuhan in the early stages of the epidemic “even though they knew they shouldn’t have. Pompeo said, “This is what authoritarian regimes do. Now the whole world can see it. As the president said, the Chinese Communist Party will pay the price for this malfeasance.”
The two then discussed the situation in Hong Kong and the negative effects of Hong Kong’s national security laws on local residents. According to Pompeo, “If people’s rhetoric doesn’t match what the Chinese Communist Party thinks is appropriate or useful, then they now have a national security law that puts all the citizens of the world, not even just those in Hong Kong, at risk. The world can see that, the world can see that the people of Hong Kong are now being treated as if they’re just another communist city inside of China. I think the reaction that you’re seeing is not only the reaction that the people of the world are having, but the efforts of world leaders to protect themselves and their people from the challenge that the Chinese Communist Party has put before them.”
In the interview, Hewitt also criticized the Holy See’s handling of the agreement on the provisional appointment of bishops in China. In response, Pompeo said he had just returned from the Vatican and had discussed the series of issues with the Vatican leadership during his layover. He said, “The Holy See is capable of exerting great influence. Their moral witness is very important, and we need them to speak on the world stage about the appalling activity that is going on inside China today: the tremendous religious oppression, the Sinicization of the Bible, the demolition of religious buildings – not just Christian buildings, (but) Catholic buildings, every religion – the oppression of Muslims is appalling – horrific on a scale that’s been going on since the 1930s,” he said. The worst thing we’ve seen since then is what’s happening in Xinjiang.”
Pompeo said, “I have called on Catholic leaders in the Catholic Church and the Vatican to defend these people. The Church has always done this. Pope John Paul II was an important part of turning the tide, creating freedom in Europe, destroying the Soviet Union and (speaking out) for the freedom of the people who were oppressed by the Soviet Union.” He said, ” Today we need the same moral witness. The Holy See is a powerful force for the good of the world, and we need them to speak about it with seriousness, concern and in a way that I know is consistent with the convictions that they hold so dear.” Later in the program, Pompeo also spoke with Hewitt about his just-concluded visit to Japan. During the interview, Pompeo reiterated his desire to institutionalize the U.S.-Japan-India-Australia quadruplet as an important system of dialogue among democracies in the Indo-Pacific region.
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