Pope strays from script to avoid mention of Hong Kong in Sunday address
- Embargoed version of Angelus speech shows omission of a paragraph expressing ‘worries’ over city’s religious freedom
- Holy See declines to comment on reason for change but some believe it is tied to renegotiation of China-Vatican agreement
According to an embargoed copy of the Angelus address, seen and confirmed by the South China Morning Post, the missing paragraph expressed the Pope’s “attention and worries” about Hong Kong’s social and religious freedoms.
The Pope’s Angelus address to the faithful in St Peter’s Square traditionally features a brief comment on one or two international situations. A copy of Sunday’s speech in Italian was circulated to accredited Vatican journalists under a strict embargo an hour earlier.
A comparison of the embargoed version with the speech later released by the Holy See press office has shown Pope Francis stuck to the majority of the prepared remarks. In the first part – about how the poor and suffering could find salvation and comfort by following Jesus – he added some impromptu teachings and excerpts from Scripture.