Tzu Chi at the Vatican: A Running Dialogue with the Pope

This was not Tzu Chi’s first encounter with the pope. On April 3rd and 4th 2017, the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development held a conference entitled, “Prospects for service to integral human development: fifty years since Populorum Progressio” at the Vatican. The founder of Tzu Chi, Dharma Master Cheng Yen, was invited to send delegates as representatives of the NGO at the conference. As a result, Dr. Lin Chin-lon, the CEO of Tzu Chi’s Mission of Medicine, together with his wife Mrs. Lin, were invited as keynote speakers at the conference to discuss providing aid and relieving suffering for refugees. Pope Francis graced the conference to personally meet and interact with all the delegates, including Dr. Lin Chin-lon and Mrs. Lin.