Pope Francis gave one of the most puzzling interviews of his pontificate back in January. Speaking to Asia Times, in what was billed as his first interview on China, Francis wasn’t his usual pithy and unguarded self. He heaped praise on a country that has persecuted Christians for the past half century, describing it as “a reference point of greatness” and a source of “inexhaustible wisdom”.
Vatican-watchers scratched their heads. They knew the Pope longed to visit China and had reached out behind the scenes to the communist leadership. But why had he suddenly taken this campaign public in the form of an uncharacteristically cloying newspaper interview?
