The Pope’s Angelus address to the faithful in St Peter’s Square traditionally features a brief comment on one or two international situations. A copy of Sunday’s speech in Italian was circulated to accredited Vatican journalists under a strict embargo an hour earlier.

Can Pope Francis and Xi Jinping find common ground?

A comparison of the embargoed version with the speech later released by the Holy See press office has shown Pope Francis stuck to the majority of the prepared remarks. In the first part – about how the poor and suffering could find salvation and comfort by following Jesus – he added some impromptu teachings and excerpts from Scripture.

In the second part of his address, in which he commented on international affairs, the Pope initially followed the script verbatim, hailing the United Nations Security Council’s “request for a global and immediate ceasefire”.

However, he then omitted a paragraph about Hong Kong which read, in the embargoed version: “I would like to express my heartfelt concerns to the people who live there. In this current situation, the issues on hand are undoubtedly very delicate and have been affecting everyone’s life there.”

According to the embargoed script, Pope Francis was expected to call on involved parties to handle the problems with “foresight, wisdom and authentic dialogue” which required “courage, humility, non-violence and respect of the dignity and rights of everyone involved”.

Pope Francis ‘initiated talks’ on bishops deal between foreign ministers

The missing paragraph concluded with the Pope expressing the desire that “social life, especially religious life, can be expressed in complete and genuine freedom as prescribed in international laws and regulations”.

The Holy See press office did not respond to the Post’s enquiry about the omission, which followed the enactment by Beijing of its controversial national security law for Hong Kong, a move which has prompted religious leaders in the city to express concerns over future freedom to practice their faith.

Hong Kong national security law official English version:

Commenting on the Pope’s omission of Hong Kong from his Sunday Angelus prayer, Lawrence Reardon, an expert on Chinese politics with University of New Hampshire, said he believed it was an “indirect move” by Pope Francis and Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, to show the world his concerns over the city without embarrassing Beijing.

Reardon said the timing of the address was delicate, as Rome was trying to renegotiate a 2018 agreement with Beijing over the appointment of Chinese bishops, which the Pope believed could heal the rift between China’s official and unofficial Catholic churches.

Hong Kong’s press freedom hits record low, amid fears over security law

The Pope needed to avoid being perceived by Beijing as a foreign force meddling with Chinese domestic affairs, Reardon said, suggesting it was a calculated approach to maintain the status quo of the Hong Kong church while achieving a renegotiated deal with China.

“While the text was distributed to all the reporters, the Pope did not speak these prayers aloud. But the Vatican has not revoked the words either,” Reardon pointed out.

A Beijing-based researcher, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter, also interpreted the Pope’s move as a subtle downplaying of his Hong Kong concerns to avoid a confrontation with Beijing at an “extremely delicate time”.

“Any wrong expression from the Pope’s mouth at this stage might jeopardise previous hard-earned efforts to build the [2018 bishop] agreement,” said the researcher.