Posted on 06/27/2023 11:41:17 AM PDT by ebb tide
ROME – As the Pontifical Academy for Social Sciences prepares to stage a workshop this week on global affairs, changes to the online publicity surrounding the event, including graphics, wording and the lineup of speakers, suggests the Vatican is attempting to downplay what was originally an overtly Chinese focus.
Titled “Dialogue Between Civilizations on Global Commons,” the event is being hosted by the Pontifical Academy for Social Sciences and is organized jointly by American economist Jeffrey Sachs, a professor at Colombia University, a UN advisor, and a member of the academy; Australian economist Steve Howard, secretary general of the Global Foundation; and Italian philosopher Riccardo Pozzo, a professor at Rome’s Tor Vergata University and another academy member.
Howard was among the speakers listed at the Global Chinese Economic and Technology summit held in Malaysia in December 2022. The title of his speech was, “China and the world in the post-pandemic global economy – Towards a shared future and sustainable prosperity.”
The Global Foundation held an event titled “The Beijing Mission” from April 28-29 of this year. The foundation’s website contains a letter of support from Vatican Secretary of State Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin, widely considered to have been the chief architect of Pope Francis’s China policy, for a separate event the foundation held last year.
Sachs, a China supporter who has a lengthy association with Chinese institutions, serves as a consultant to the China Development Research Foundation, a study foundation headquartered in Beijing with the stated purpose of promoting good governance and public policy to aid in economic and social development.
The stated purpose of this week’s conference is to evaluate global challenges from the perspective of China and India as growing global powers.
In comments to AsiaNews, Pozzo said the goal of the conference “is to help understand China and India from their point of view. This workshop aims to promote meaningful and sustainable dialogue and results-oriented cooperation.”
However, several changes to the original promotional materials and official program indicate that the academy is seeking to play down the Chinese influence on the event, amid lingering controversy over a deal between Rome and Beijing over the appointment of Catholic bishops which critics fault for being overly accommodating of China.
However, several changes to the original promotional materials and official program indicate that the academy is seeking to play down the Chinese influence on the event, amid lingering controversy over a deal between Rome and Beijing over the appointment of Catholic bishops which critics fault for being overly accommodating of China.
Ping
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