China on Tuesday characterized its mass internment of Muslims as a push to bring into the "modern, civilized" world a destitute people who are easily led astray — a depiction that analysts said bore troubling colonial overtones.
The provisional agreement between the Vatican and Beijing gives no assurance the government will curb its recent crackdown on religious practice, which includes unprecedented control over Muslims and Buddhists.
Describing this synod as a “moment of grace for the whole church,” Pope Francis prayed that the Holy Spirit “may help us to preserve the memory of the Lord.”