Dalai Lama hints Chinese influence thwarted meeting with Pontiff
December 11, 2014
The Dalai Lama has hinted that he did not meet with Pope Francis during a trip to Rome this week because Vatican officials feared that a meeting would upset Chinese government officials.
The Tibetan spiritual leader said that he had hoped to meet with the Pontiff but was unable to arrange an audience. “The Vatican administration says it is not possible because it could cause problems,” he said.
The Beijing regime has frequently protested when the Dalai Lama has been accorded meeting with world political leaders. The Dalai Lama, who now lives in exile, has refused to accept China’s control over his country and is still regarded by many Tibetans as their legitimate leader.
Father Federico Lombardi, the director of the Vatican press office, did not respond directly to questions as to whether Pope Francis had made the choice not to meet with the Dalai Lama. He did point out, however, that the Pontiff would not be meeting with any of the other Nobel Prize laureates who gathered for a conference in Rome this week.
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