# The Vatican in Transition: China, Religion, and the Legacy of Pope Francis

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-us-china-podcast-736105/the-vatican-in-transition-china-religion-and-the-legacy-of-pope-francis
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-us-china-podcast-736105/the-vatican-in-transition-china-religion-and-the-legacy-of-pope-francis.md
Podcast: [The US-China Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-us-china-podcast-736105)
Published: 2025-12-15T10:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://chinapodcast.libsyn.com/the-vatican-in-transition-china-religion-and-the-legacy-of-pope-francis
Audio file: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/chinapodcast/Vatican_Program_Podcast.mp3?dest-id=126192
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-us-china-podcast-736105/episodes/the-vatican-in-transition-china-religion-and-the-legacy-of-pope-francis
Duration seconds: 1973

## Resource

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. This approach has unfolded against a backdrop of repression of underground clergy and growing pressure from Beijing for the Vatican to sever ties with Taiwan . For observers, this period offers insight into how a global religious institution operates within a system 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 religious freedom , geopolitical recognition, and the boundaries of engagement remain central, and may take on new dimensions under his leadership. In a conversation recorded on August 17, Ian Johnson, Francesco Sisci , and Karrie Koessel discuss the key issues currently shaping China–Vatican relations and how they may evolve under the new pope. About this program

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## Transcript

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