What Hold Has China Over the Vatican?

N.B. The Pope was asked to speak about the persecution of Catholic Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong. And he responded “No comment.” Disturbing, to say the least.

That’s the one job the pope has that no one else does: to speak on behalf of souls and their human and religious rights, especially persecuted Catholics. 

By  Catholic Insight

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March 5, 2026

Here is a disconcerting exchange between Pope Leo XIV and an EWTN reporter, when the Pope is asked to comment on the case of Jimmy Lai.

As readers may know, Jimmy Lai is a Catholic entrepreneur and businessman, who persevered through years of threats to stand up for basic human rights and freedom against the Communist leadership of China. And in one of those tragic ironies, had his own human rights violated by being sentenced to twenty years    .

This is part of a bigger picture, with Pope Francis secret concordat with the CCP, ‘legitimizing’ the state-controlled Church in China, and – allegedly – throwing the long-suffering underground Church under the bus, a resistance which had held faithful to Rome for decades after the Communist takeover after their victory in the Second World War. The ‘official’ Church now gets to choose bishops, who are properly indoctrinated and hold the party line. (The Vatican has veto power, but apparently it’s never been exercised). There are other major problems, such as the law that no one under 18 is permitted to go to church, attend Mass or, apparently, participate in the sacraments (except, perhaps, ‘underground’). Crosses are destroyed, and images of Xi Jinping are to be put up in churches, and crucifixes taken down. And sermons are carefully monitored to ensure they are properly ‘sinicized’, with nothing subversive to the regime getting through. No streaming or on-line evangelization is permitted. Priests also surrender their passports, and can only travel with permission.

And this doesn’t even begin with their other grievous crimes against other religions and groups. All in all, the Chinese Communist Party is a godless, amoral, brutal, communist dictatorship.

Yet the Pope feels he ‘cannot comment’ on Jimmy Lai. Or, we may presume, criticize China in any way, shape or form.

Why?