Taiwan’s Kaohsiung – Some Taiwan is watching with growing uncertainty as the Catholic Church prepares to elect a new leader after Pope Francis’ death. Holy Sea is the only European nation that maintains diplomatic relations with Taipei, but some fear that the growth of the ties between the Vatican and Beijing will change things.
Taiwan is home to less than 300,000 Catholics. In contrast, estimates have brought the number of Catholics in Communist China from 8 million to 12 million, with an additional 390,000 in Hong Kong, ruled by China. Despite these numbers, the Holy See continues to recognize Taiwan as the only “China.”
Following Pope Francis’ death, Taiwanese President William Lye said he will be attending the funeral soon. However, after a while, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that former vice president and devout Catholic Chen Chiang Jen would become Taiwan’s envoy.
Pope Francis emphasized Catholicism globally, reaching beyond us, Europe arrived in poor countries
The photo, taken on August 10, 2018, shows worshippers lined up to receive communion during the Catholic Mass at the Church of the Holy Spirit in Yanshui, about an hour’s drive from Teinan in the southern city. With two lion statues guarding the entrance with a cross rising from the roof of the red pagoda, the Catholic church in southern Taiwan can be easily mistaken for one of the ubiquitous temples dotting the island. The island has over 1,000 churches, but the Holy Spirit Church is particularly unique. (Sam Yeh/AFP via Getty Images)
Taiwan will be disappointed, according to Taipei-based lawyer and political risk analyst Ross Feingold that President Lai misses this world leadership gathering. “The precedent exists for the Taiwanese president to attend the Pope’s funeral. In 2005, then President Chen Shui Bian attended the funeral of John Paul II, so Lai’s team claimed they assumed that he asked if Lai could attend the funeral of Francis.
After Pope Francis took office in 2013, the Vatican began building ties with Beijing. In 2018, he signed a controversial agreement with China regarding the appointment of a bishop. The contract, which has been reorganized and expanded several times, is an attempt to direct opinions on bishop selection to both sides and close the gap between China’s national Catholic Church and the underground church loyal to Rome. Vatican officials argue that the agreement is idyllic rather than political. Still, for Taiwan, it is considered a warning sign.
The photo, taken on August 10, 2018, shows a motorcyclist passing by the Holy Spirit Church of Yanshui, about an hour’s drive from Teinan in the southern city. (Sam Yeh/AFP via Getty Images)
China, which took the holy view in 1951, requires that all countries end diplomatic relations with Taiwan before establishing relations with Beijing. Taiwan’s official allies are currently numbers except for 12, and the Holy See is its most symbolically important diplomatic partner.
But Thomas Tu, a Vatican diplomacy expert at Taiwan’s National Chengchi University, told Fox News Digital that the fear of the impending switch is exaggerated. “This is not just about politics, it’s about the mission of Catholics around the world,” Tu said. “The Vatican survived the Empire. It’s a patient.” Tu cited the Vatican’s relationship with Vietnam as evidence of practical patience. China and Vietnam do not have formal ties, but the Vatican maintains a high level of religious representatives There.
The first photo of Pope Francis was released in his cas. Saturday funeral set
People will be attending Christmas Mass at Xishiku Catholic Church in Beijing on December 24th, 2023. (AFP via Pedro Pardo/Getty Image)
Pope Francis believed that his involvement with China was more favorable than anything, even if it was incomplete. Francis was the first pope to fly around China’s airspace, and in 2014 he famously sent a greeting to President Xi Jinping. When he visited Mongolia in 2023, the Pope “sent a warm greeting to the noble Chinese.”
Each overture to Beijing attracted criticism from within the church, particularly from critics of the 93-year-old retired Cardinal Joseph Zeng Cardinal of Hong Kong. Zen passport was recently returned to him by authorities so that he could attend the Pope’s funeral.
Zen and others view the warming of relations with Beijing as a ko voyage to the official atheist regime.
Pope Francis will greet the Chinese people closing their mass at the Hun Theatre in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia on September 3, 2023. (Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images)
Since 1957, Beijing has taken close chains to millions of Chinese Catholics through China’s patriotic Catholic association. Pope Francis has accepted some compromises with China, but the Vatican wants autonomy in mental issues.
While some observers have suggested that Beijing could ultimately allow more space for the Vatican, formal deals would require that sacred ties with Taiwan, an unnegotiable prerequisite for China, be cut off.
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With the new Pope being elected next month, some in Taiwan are worried about the shift, but few experts believe the next Pope will be quick to decide. “We’re not in a hurry,” said Dr. Jang Chin, a senior researcher at the Rock Strategic Studies Association. “The Vatican knows how to wait, and China is not trying to give China’s Catholic community the same privileges that Catholics enjoy in most other countries.
