September 5, 2023

A daily news briefing from Catholic News Agency, powered by artificial intelligence. Ask your smart speaker to play “Catholic News,” or listen every morning wherever you get podcasts. www.catholicnewsagency.com - Pope Francis has returned home after his trip to Mongolia. Catholics from across Asia traveled to Mongolia to attend the country’s first-ever papal Mass with Pope Francis on Sunday. While papal Masses on the pope’s other international trips can draw hundreds of thousands of people, the Mass in the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar only had an estimated 2,000 in attendance — presenting a rare opportunity to personally meet the pope for attendees. Catholics from South Korea, Vietnam, the Philippines, Russia, China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Azerbaijan attended the Mass in the sports arena, according to the Vatican. Among the crowd were Catholics from mainland China, including underground Catholics who risked retribution from their government to attend the Mass with the pope. Pope Francis said that he wanted to “send a warm greeting to the noble Chinese people.” https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255273/catholics-from-mainland-china-and-across-asia-in-mongolia-for-mass-with-pope-francis Pope Francis also revealed the existence of a joint China-Vatican commission on the appointment of bishops during an in-flight press conference on Monday — giving the clearest explanation to date as to what could be in the secret Vatican-China deal. The pope said that there is a joint commission between the Chinese government and the Holy See on the appointment of Catholic bishops in China presided over by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin. The pope described the Vatican’s relations with the People’s Republic of China as “very respectful.” The Vatican’s diplomatic relationship with China was a topic of focus during the pope’s four-day trip to Mongolia, which shares a nearly 3,000-mile border with China. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/255276/pope-francis-gives-glimps