Pope Francis tells Catholics to be 'good Christians and good citizens' during Mongolia visit

Pope Francis, on Sunday (September 3), urged the Catholics in China to be "good Christians and good citizens" while also terming them as "noble" people, in his overture to the country to ease restrictions on religion.

Francis made these comments towards the end of a Mass in the Mongolian capital, further calling up the former and current archbishops of Hong Kong, Cardinal John Tong Hon and Archbishop Stephen Chow, to flank him as he spoke.

"These two brother bishops - the emeritus of Hong Kong and the current bishop of Hong Kong. I would like to take advantage of their presence to send a warm greeting to the noble Chinese people," he said in Italian.

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"I wish the best for all the (Chinese) people, to go forward, to always progress. And to Chinese Catholics I ask to be good Christians and good citizens," he said.

'Good Christians and good citizens'

The "good Christians and good citizens" phrase used by Francis on Sunday is the one that the Vatican frequently uses in order to reassure communist governments that giving more freedom to Catholics would only help their countries' social and economic advancement.

Francis, on Saturday, seemed to send a more inferential message, telling a gathering of Catholic missionaries that governments had "nothing to fear" from the Catholic Church.

"Governments and secular institutions have nothing to fear from the Church's work of evangelisation, for she has no political agenda to advance," said the pontiff, without mentioning China explicitly.

Earlier on Sunday, Francis assembled leaders of different religions who were operating in Mongolia in an intimate theatre.

"Religious traditions, for all their distinctiveness and diversity, have impressive potential for the benefit of society as a whole," the Argentine Jesuit told the group, which included Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, and representatives of Shamanism, among others.

After his speech, a head monk at a Buddhist monastery in Mongolia, Natsagdorj Damdinsuren, said the pope's visit "proves the solidarity of the human race declaring peace together".

"I am just a humble Buddhist monk but for me, war and conflict are the most tragic events of our time. I guess other religions agree with me," Damdinsuren said.

(With inputs from agencies)

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