"Pope Commends Mongolia's Historic Religious Freedom under Genghis Khan"
Pope Francis visited Mongolia and praised the country's tradition of religious freedom, dating back to the time of Genghis Khan. The Catholic community in Mongolia, which has only about 1,500 people, has had a presence for centuries but was officially sanctioned after the country abandoned its Soviet-allied communist government in 1992. The Pope expressed hope for a bilateral agreement with the government to lift restrictions on worshipper numbers and end the treatment of the church as a nongovernmental organization.