In Denying Dalai Lama, Pope more Politician than Pontiff -The iPINIONS Journal

I have repeatedly denounced world leaders for refusing to meet with the Dalai Lama out of fear of incurring the wrath of China:

Western leaders have made a mockery of their condemnation of the brutal crackdown on Tibetan monks by heeding China’s warning against meeting with the Dalai Lama in any official capacity. UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown appeased the Chinese by refusing to meet with him at No. 10, choosing instead to meet only at the residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. This enabled Brown to claim that he was meeting the Dalai Lama ‘in a spiritual rather than political capacity.’

(“Punishing China for Its Brutal Crackdown on Tibet? Hardly…,” The iPINIONS Journal, July 28, 2008)

I have also lamented that, in each case, nothing but greed for Chinese money explains the hypocrisy inherent in world leaders shunning His Holiness.

But I never thought I would have cause to denounce Pope Francis as the latest world leader to appease China in this respect. Not least because of the precedent his predecessor Benedict XVI set by granting the Dalai Lama an audience in 2006.

What’s more, this Pope has cultivated an ascetic reputation based not only on denouncing money as the root of all kinds of evil, but also on living a lifestyle of such Christian modesty, he has shamed many of the putative princes of the Catholic Church (aka the Cardinals) into giving up their imperial appurtenances.

Yet, now comes this:

Pope Francis has denied a private audience to the Dalai Lama because it could harm the Holy See’s already fraught relations with China, the Vatican said on Friday.

The request was declined ‘for obvious reasons concerning the delicate situation’ with China, a Vatican spokesman said…

The Dalai Lama, in Rome for a meeting of Nobel Peace Prize winners, told Italian media he had approached the Vatican about a meeting but was told it would not be possible.

(Reuters, December 12, 2014)

Frankly, not since Peter denied Jesus, thrice, has there been a more craven (and venal) case of one holy man denying another.

Not to mention the mockery this makes of the mission of this pope’s own Pontifical Council for Interreligious dialogue. After all, just last month, Francis made quite a show of greeting Orthodox and Muslim leaders in Istanbul, and the Vatican hosted a conference on family values in Rome with “leaders from across the religious spectrum,” including Jews … and Buddhists.

Which constrains me to ask: what does it profit a pope to gain favor with China, but lose favor with God? Especially given that worshipping Mammon instead of God is China’s de facto state religion.

Sadly, the only thing that explains the hypocrisy inherent in Francis denying the Dalai Lama is that, after decades of corruption at the Vatican bank, The Holy See’s fleeced and tainted finances are forcing it to sell not just its sovereignty to China, but its soul to boot:

It came as no surprise to me when China began demanding that countries utterly shun the Dalai Lama pursuant to its national interest. Hell, it had become so empowered that it felt entitled to place this demand even on the United States, which (in a profound case of geopolitical irony) had since become China’s biggest debtor nation.

(“South Africa Joins the Ranks of Countries ‘Selling Its Sovereignty to China,” The iPINIONS Journal, October 3, 2014)

Meanwhile, the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera caused all kinds of consternation last week, when it reported that Francis believes animals will go to heaven. But, when he arrives at The Pearly Gates, I fear Francis will have some ‘splainin’ to do for denying the Dalai Lama.