Cue the soundtrack from film adaptations of the Dickens classic, because what Pope Francis has given us, ladies and gentlemen, is a Tale of Two Cities… only the settings aren’t London and Paris, they’re Beijing and Ankara.
We’re in the middle of July, which means most of Italy, including the Vatican, is down-shifting in preparation for the August holidays. Though a Pope can make news anytime he wants, in reality about the only time he’s on the public stage is for his noontime Sunday Angelus address, and the last two have been humdingers.
The headline was what the pope didn’t say. An advance text circulated by the Vatican included a passage about Hong Kong which Francis chose to skip, fueling endless speculation about whether China had somehow exercised pressure on the Vatican, or whether the Pope maybe got cold feet.
On July 13, by way of contrast, the story was what the Pope did say that wasn’t in the advance text. He spoke out on Turkey’s decision to revert the fabled Christian basilica of Hagia Sophia from a museum to an active mosque, a move which had been strenuously resisted by Turkey’s small Christian co-mmunity centering on the Patriarchate of Constantinople.
“I’m thinking of Santa Sophia … I am very pained,” he said, in language that did not appear in the advance version of his remarks circulated by the Vatican Press Office.
So, the obvious question presents itself: Why did Francis speak out on Hagia Sophia, but bite his tongue on Hong Kong? In all likelihood, the distinction, at least in part, has to do with who’s most likely to be paying attention and most likely to be unhappy: Turkey, in the case of Hagia Sophia, and China with regard to Hong Kong.
In other words, it’s the difference between Ankara and Beijing.
To begin with, Turkey is a regional power while China is a global superpower. Diplo-matically, there’s a lot more to lose in fraying relations with Beijing than Ankara.