Sparks fly over Pope Francis' interview with Asia Times

''Those paying a price for their faith in China today may be disappointed that the pontiff did not address their fate more directly.''

Pope Francis' exclusive interview on Tuesday afternoon has been met with harsh criticism. Though the pontiff spoke highly of the country, he steered clear of religion and freedom talks.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - According to Vatican Radio, Pope Francis spoke to online newspaper Asia Times.

The pontiff was interviewed by columnist and China Renmin University senior researcher Francesco Sisci and admitted he had been fascinated by Chinese culture since he was a boy.

"For me, China has always been a reference point of greatness," the pontiff said. "But more than a country, a great culture, with an inexhaustible wisdom."

The comment sparked a flurry of critiques across the world, prompting Sandro Magister, one of Italy's leading Vatican experts, to write a blog post about it. In the blog, Magister bemoaned Pope Francis' "total silence" toward questions of religion and freedom.

During the interview, Pope Francis was asked about the challenged "faced by the rising influence of the country," to which he responded that the world should not react with "fear. But when a people moves forward, this does not worry me because it means they are making history. And I believe that the Chinese people are moving forward and this is their greatness."

The pontiff continued, saying the East and West can achieve a balance of peace through "dialogue."

"Encounter is achieved through dialogue," Pope Francis stated. "The true balance of peace is realized through dialogue."

Though critics have spoken against the pontiff, he did mention China's population control "one-child" policy.

"The problem for China of not having children must be very painful; because the pyramid is then inverted and a child has to bear the burden of his father, mother, grandfather and grandmother," the Holy Father commented. "And this is exhausting, demanding, disorientating. It is not the natural way."

China's one-child policy came to an end in October last year, in a dramatic step from China's decades-old attempt at population control.

Though citizens are still not allowed to bear as many children as they wish, the limit has been raised from a single-child household to a two-child household.

Pope Francis concluded the interview by saying: "On the eve of the New Year, I wish to convey my best wishes and greetings to President Xi Jinping and to all the Chinese people. And I wish to express my hope that they never lose their historical awareness of being a great people, with a great history of wisdom, and that they have much to offer the world.

"The world looks to his great wisdom of yours. In this New Year, with this awareness, may you continue to go forward in order to help and cooperate with everyone in caring for our common home and our common peoples."

The pontiff's praises toward China's progression and culture was not lost on Magister, who wrote the Pope's careful language was a "superb example of Realpolitik pushed to the extreme."

China's communist history includes the lack of religious tolerance and freedom of speech among several other rights Western countries enjoy.

American Vatican commentator John Allen wrote: "Those paying a price for their faith in China today may be disappointed that the pontiff did not address their fate more directly. Time will tell... whether the goodwill a pope buys by skipping over such matters will produce results down the line.

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