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Q&A: Pope, Chinese leader Xi to cross paths in Kazakhstan

People wearing face masks walk past the Wangfujing Church, a Catholic church in Beijing, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022. Chinese President Xi Jinping's first trip overseas since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic will overlap with a visit by Pope Francis to Kazakhstan, although the Vatican says there are no plans for them to meet. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) Security officers on patrol walk past the gates of the Wangfujing Church, a Catholic church in Beijing, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022. Chinese President Xi Jinping's first trip overseas since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic will overlap with a visit by Pope Francis to Kazakhstan, although the Vatican says there are no plans for them to meet. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) People wearing face masks walk past the Wangfujing Church, a Catholic church in Beijing, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022. Chinese President Xi Jinping's first trip overseas since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic will overlap with a visit by Pope Francis to Kazakhstan, although the Vatican says there are no plans for them to meet. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) FILE - A parishioner walks past the altar during an impromptu prayer vigil as members of Lower Dafei Catholic Church wait for Chinese police, security guards, and government workers to arrive and cut down their church's cross in Lower Dafei Village in Lower Dafei Village in Yongjia County in eastern China's Zhejiang Province on July 30, 2015. Chinese President Xi Jinping's first trip overseas since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic will overlap with a visit by Pope Francis to Kazakhstan, although the Vatican says there are no plans for them to meet. Under Xi, China has launched a crackdown on Christianity in recent years, part of an overall tightening on religious freedoms which has affected worshippers of Islam, Christianity, and to a lesser extent, Buddhism and Daoism. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File) FILE - Church members put up a banner reading "Safeguard the dignity of belief, oppose the forcible removal of crosses" at the entrance of the Jingda Catholic Church in Jingda Village in Yongjia County in eastern China's Zhejiang Province on July 30, 2015. Chinese President Xi Jinping's first trip overseas since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic will overlap with a visit by Pope Francis to Kazakhstan, although the Vatican says there are no plans for them to meet. Under Xi, China has launched a crackdown on Christianity in recent years, part of an overall tightening on religious freedoms which has affected worshippers of Islam, Christianity, and to a lesser extent, Buddhism and Daoism. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File) A couple poses for photos on the steps of the Wangfujing Church, a Catholic church in Beijing, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022. Chinese President Xi Jinping's first trip overseas since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic will overlap with a visit by Pope Francis to Kazakhstan, although the Vatican says there are no plans for them to meet. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) A couple poses for photos in front of the Wangfujing Church, a Catholic church in Beijing, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022. Chinese President Xi Jinping's first trip overseas since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic will overlap with a visit by Pope Francis to Kazakhstan, although the Vatican says there are no plans for them to meet. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) FILE - A faded photo of Chinese President Xi Jinping is seen near the Christian poster with the word "Grace" outside a house church near Nanyang in central China's Henan province on June 1, 2018. Under President Xi Jinping, Under Xi, China has launched a crackdown on Christianity in recent years, part of an overall tightening on religious freedoms which has affected worshippers of Islam, Christianity, and to a lesser extent, Buddhism and Daoism. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File) Security officers on patrol walk past the gates of the Wangfujing Church, a Catholic church in Beijing, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022. Chinese President Xi Jinping's first trip overseas since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic will overlap with a visit by Pope Francis to Kazakhstan, although the Vatican says there are no plans for them to meet. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) FILE - In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping, center, and his premier Li Keqiang, center right, meet with representatives of model civil servants during a national award ceremony held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Aug. 30, 2022. Chinese President Xi Jinping's first trip overseas since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic will overlap with a visit by Pope Francis to Kazakhstan, although the Vatican says there are no plans for them to meet. (Li Xueren/Xinhua via AP, File) FILE - Pope Francis, left, meets the Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev as he arrives at Our-Sultan's International airport in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, on Sept. 13, 2022. Chinese President Xi Jinping's first trip overseas since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic will overlap with a visit by Pope Francis to Kazakhstan, although the Vatican says there are no plans for them to meet. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) FILE - Pope Francis delivers his speech during a meeting with authorities, civil society and diplomats at Qazaq Concert Hall in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, on Sept. 13, 2022. Chinese President Xi Jinping's first trip overseas since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic will overlap with a visit by Pope Francis to Kazakhstan, although the Vatican says there are no plans for them to meet. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
Q&A: Pope, Chinese leader Xi to cross paths in Kazakhstan