1 rich Libsyn https://www.libsyn.com 90 600 The death of Pope Francis came at a delicate moment in the Vatican’s relationship with China. Since 2018, the Holy See has pursued a cautious and often controversial diplomatic engagement with Beijing to maintain the Church’s relevance in China while navigating the Chinese Communist Party’s strict control over religion.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; This approach has unfolded against a backdrop of repression of underground clergy and growing pressure from Beijing for the Vatican to&amp;nbsp;sever ties with Taiwan. For observers, this period offers insight into how a global religious institution operates&amp;nbsp;within a system&amp;nbsp;in which space for religion and civil society is tightly constrained. With the new pope’s first hundred days behind him, long-standing questions about&amp;nbsp;religious freedom, geopolitical recognition, and the boundaries of engagement remain central, and may take on new dimensions under his leadership.&amp;nbsp; In a conversation recorded on August 17,&amp;nbsp;Ian Johnson, Francesco Sisci, and&amp;nbsp;Karrie Koessel&amp;nbsp;discuss the key issues currently shaping China–Vatican relations and how they may evolve under the new pope.&amp;nbsp; About this program The US-China Podcast http://chinapodcast.libsyn.com <iframe title="Libsyn Player" style="border: none" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/39373295/height/90/theme/custom/thumbnail/yes/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/87A93A/" height="90" width="600" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen></iframe> https://assets.libsyn.com/secure/content/196476730