Pope Leo XIV laments people valuing ‘technology, money and success’ over Christianity in first mass as pontiff – as it happened

Pope held mass for cardinals in the Sistine Chapel on Friday morning

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China has sent congratulations to newly elected Pope Leo XIV and hopes the Vatican under the new pontiff will continue dialogue with China in a constructive spirit", Reuters reports a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Friday at a regular press conference.

Leo's predecessor, Pope Francis, strained relations between the Vatican and China in 2020 when he described China's Muslim Uyghurs as a persecuted" people, listing them alongside the Rohingya, the Yazidi, and persecuted Christians in Islamic countries.