VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican is greeting the visit to Italy of Chinese President Xi Jinping later this week with a new round of overtures…
VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican is greeting the visit to Italy of Chinese President Xi Jinping later this week with a new round of overtures and says the “door is always open” to dialogue.
Italian media have been speculating for days about the possibility of a meeting between Xi and Pope Francis during Xi’s March 21-24 visit. But there has been no word from either side. China and the Holy See haven’t had diplomatic relations for more than a half-century.
When asked Tuesday about Xi’s visit to Italy, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, said: “Our door is always open.” But he noted that both sides would have to express a willingness to meet.
The Vatican has been working across a variety of fronts to build on relations stemming from the historic provisional agreement reached in September between Beijing and the Holy See over bishop nominations.
