US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday called on the Vatican to be “serious” in addressing religious persecution in China, on the heels of a visit in which Pope Francis did not meet him.
Pompeo, an evangelical Protestant and staunch critic of China, in a radio interview drew an implicit contrast between Francis and John Paul II — a hero of conservative Catholics whom President Donald Trump is courting ahead of November 3 elections.
“John Paul II was an important part of turning the tide and creating freedom in Europe and the destruction of the Soviet Union and the freedom of the people that were oppressed by the Soviet Union,” Pompeo told conservative host Hugh Hewitt. Read more