Pope Francis chose not to meet with another religious leader, the Dalai Lama, in Rome this weekend during the Nobel Peace Prize summit due to fear of further straining the relationship of Vatican and Beijing.

The Tibetan exile has been snubbed by the Pope and critics are saying that this decision reflect the acute diplomatic dilemma of the Pope and Vatican in order to avoid possibly upsetting the Chinese officials out of fear that the Catholic community in China might be in trouble.

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However, the snubbing is said to be not in line with the enthusiasm of the Pope to have a dialogue with other religions as he has been pursuing this for months now especially during his trips to Turkey, Albania and the Holy Land. He will also be discussing the same agenda when he travels to Sri Lanka next month to meet the Buddhist leaders in the said island.

The Dalai Lama has released a statement about not meeting Pope Francis when he arrived in Rome on Wednesday but pointed out that he would have been really happy if he met the Pope. He added, "The Vatican administration says it's not possible because it could cause inconveniences."

On the other hand, the Vatican did confirm that although the two men will not be meeting, they share a common concern for the poor and the down-trodden. A spokesman for the Vatican explains, "Pope Francis obviously holds the Dalai Lama in very high regard but he will not be meeting any of the Nobel laureates."

Also, the pontiff will only be sending a video message to the Nobel Peace Prize summit in order to congratulate the winners.

The event was supposed to be held in South Africa but due to the restrictions of the country not allowing the Dalai Lama to travel for the summit, it had to be moved as other Nobel Laureates threatened to boycott the event if the Tibetan leader will not make it. 

TagsPope Francis, Dalai Lama, Rome, Nobel Peace Prize Summit, Vatican