Can the bishops’ concluding document please everyone?
A pair of high-profile invitations came to Pope Francis last week – one from China and the other from North Korea – while the XV Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops had several headline-making developments.
The invitation to China came from Bishop Joseph Guo Jincai of Chengde – the newest diocese in China, which Pope Francis erected only last month – during his two weeks at the synod. “In these days we have invited Pope Francis to come to China,” Bishop Guo told Avvenire, the official paper of the Italian bishops’ conference. “We are waiting,” Bishop Guo said. “The Lord knows when.”
