VATICAN CITY – Pope John Paul has met the Dalai Lama but the Vatican, which has very
thorny relations with China, gave the visit a low profile.
The name of the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet did not appear on the list of people received by the pope in the Vatican’s daily bulletin on Thursday as the names of most high-profile visitors usually do.
A spokesman said this was because it was a brief courtesy visit and the content was exclusively religious, although other such visits with religious leaders have been listed.
The Dalai Lama later said he had no problem with the Vatican’s attitude.
“That’s the right description. It was a short visit,” he said in a joint interview with Reuters and another news agency.
“My main purpose (was) my expression of admiration and appreciation for what he (the pope) has done and his dream. In spite of his age and difficult physical condition he’s really determined for peace and religious understanding.”
The crimson-robed monk said the two men had not discussed any political issues on Thursday, but that they had talked about the Tibetan question during several of their previous meetings and shared similar views.
The Vatican has difficult ties with China. Chinese Roman Catholics are not allowed to recognise the pope’s authority and must join a state-backed “patriotic church”.
The Vatican says the Communist government persecutes Catholics and estimates that eight million Chinese who are loyal to the pope worship secretly in underground churches.
Relations between China and the Dalai Lama have appeared to thaw in the past year and a half, but China still objects to governments talking to him and had protested in September when he met U.S. President George W. Bush.
The Dalai Lama’s visit to Italy has stirred controversy because no meeting has yet been planned with Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Some parliamentarians have said the cabinet was cold-shouldering the Tibetan to avoid displeasing China.
