CHINA & RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the Chinese government is the world’s worst persecutor of religious believers. Making his remarks at a religious freedom symposium in Rome, Pompeo said the Catholic Church is in a unique position to stand up for those being oppressed. “For all that nation-states can do, ultimately, our efforts are constrained by the realities of world politics. … The Church is in a different position. Earthly considerations shouldn’t discourage principled stances based on eternal truths. And as history shows, Catholics have often deployed their principles in glorious, glorious service of human dignity,” Pompeo said.