ULAANBAATAR: Pope Francis on Saturday praised Mongolia’s tradition of religious freedom dating to the times of its founder, Genghis Khan, as he opened the first-ever papal visit to the Asian nation with a plea for peace and an end to the “insidious threat of corruption.” Francis met with President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh inside a traditional Mongolian ger, or round yurt, set up inside the state palace, and wrote a message in the guest book that he was visiting Mongolia, “a country young and ancient, modern and rich of tradition,” as a pilgrim of peace.
Francis is visiting Mongolia to minister to its tiny Catholic community of 1,450 people and make a diplomatic foray into a region where the Holy See has long had troubled relations, with Russia to the north and China to the south.
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