Kaohsiung, Taiwan – some in Taiwan are observing with growing concern while the Catholic Church prepares to choose a new leader after the death of Pope Francis. The Holy See is the only European state that maintains diplomatic relations with Taipei, but some fear that the growing ties between the Vatican and Beijing could change things.
Taiwan is Ferwer’s home to 300,000 Catholics. On the contrary, estimates put the number of Catholics in communist China anywhere between eight and 12 million, with another 390,000 in Hong Kong governed by China. Despite these figures, the Holy See continues to recognize Taiwan as the only “China.”
After the death of Pope Francis, the president of Taiwan, William Lai, said quickly that he planned to attend the funeral. A short time later, however, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that former Catholic vice president and devotee Chen Chien-Jen will be Taiwan’s envoy.
Pope Francis emphasized Catholicism worldwide, reached beyond the United States, Europe in impoverished nations
This task image on August 10, 2018, shows the faithful who align to receive the duration of the Holy Communion a Catholic Mass in the Church of the Holy Spirit in Yanshui, one hour by car from the southern city of Tainan. With a cross that rises from a red -page roof and two statues of León that protect the entrance, a Catholic church in southern Taiwan could easily be fog for one of the ubiquitous temples that dot the island. There are more than 1,000 churches on the island, but the Church of the Holy Spirit is particularly unique. (Sam Yeh/AFP through Getty Images)
According to the lawyer and political risk analyst based in Taipei, Ross Feingold, Taiwan will be disappointed That President Lai will miss this world leaders meeting. “The prededent exists for taiwan’s president to attend a Pope’s funeral. In 2005, The-President Chen Shui-Bian Attended John Paul II’s Funeral, So,” He Claimed, “It’s Safe to Assume President Lai’s Team Settendis” Funscle Attende “Funnsly and Ethery Tattende Tattende Tattende Tattende Tattende Tattende Tattende Tattene Etatenda Tattende Tattende Ethato “The response to see was negative.
After Pope Francis Toke’s office in 2013, the Vatican begged to build ties with Beijing. In 2018, he signed a controversial agreement with China on the appointment of bishops. The renewed and extended treatment of both parties in the bishop’s selection, an attempt to close the division between the Chinese Catholic Church of China and a loyal underground church to Rome. Vatican officials insist that the agreement is pastoral, not political. Even so, for Taiwan, it looks like a warning signal.
This image of the tasks of August 10, 2018 show that a motorcyclist that leads fits the Church of the Holy Spirit in Yanshui, one hour by car from the southern city of Tainan. (Sam Yeh/AFP through Getty Images)
China, which reduced ties with the Holy See in 1951, demands that all countries end diplomatic relations with Taiwan before establishing relations with Beijing. Taiwan’s official allies now numerate only 12, and the Holy See is its most significant symbolically significant diplomatic partner.
But Thomas Tu, an expert in Vatican diplomacy at the National University of Chengchi in Taiwan, told Fox Digital that an imminent change is demanded. “It’s not about politics, it’s about the global Catholic mission,” said you. “The Vatican has survived empires. He is patient.” You cited Vatican’s relationship with Vietnam as evidence of pragmatic patience. China and Vietnam have no formal ties, but the Vatican is a high -level religious representative there.
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People attend a Christmas Mass in the Xishiku Catholic Church in Beijing on December 24, 2023. (Pedo Pardo/AFP through Getty Image)
Pope Francis believed that the commitment to China, for imperfect, for imperfect, is not preferable to anything. Francis was the first Pope to fly through Chinough’s airspace and sent a famous greetings to President Xi Jinping in 2014. During his visit to Mongolia in 2023, the pontiff a “warm greeting to the Chinese noble”.
Each overture to Beijing has generated criticism from within the Church, particularly from the critics of China Fricales, such as Cardinal Josephen 93 years old Josephen or Hong Kong, who was arrested in 2022 who criticized a legitimate legitimate rural-viurity in that supposedly autonomous special administrative region. Zen’s passport was recently returned by the authorities to be able to the Pope’s funeral.
Zen and others see any ties heating with Beijing such as Kowtowing with an official atheist regime.
Pope Francis greets the people of China at the end of Mass in his theater on September 3, 2023 at Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. (Vatican media through Vatican Pool/Getty images)
Since 1957, Beijing, through its Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, has maintained a tight strap in millions of Chinese Catholics. Pope Francis accepted some commitments to China, but the Vatican wants autonomy in spiritual matters, which may require a miracre to achieve under the dictatorship of a single party in China.
Some observers suggest that Beijing can allow more space for the Vatican, but any formal agreement requires that the Holy See to be ventured with Taiwan, a prerequisite not negotiable for China.
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With a new Pope chosen in next month, some in Taiwan are concerned about a change, but few experts believe that the next pontiff will make hasty decisions. “There is no hurry,” said Dr. Chang Ching, a senior researcher of the ROC society for strategic studies, “the Vatican knows how to wait China “.