AmericanPapist Comments
re: downgrading relations with Taiwan
For several months this has been reported in the South China Morning Post, an English-language Hong Kong paper. Sometimes it has been noted with a kind of blaseness that surprises me.
For instance, on April 9, 2007, Lawrence Chung reported in his article "Just a matter of time before Vatican moves from Taipei to Beijing(paid subscription access only)
Taiwan's relations with the Vatican have remained unshakeable over the years, but most people expect the break to come when the Holy See notifies Taipei that it has to move its embassy to Beijing. Even the Catholic Church in Taiwan has acknowledged that the Vatican will forge official ties with the mainland when the conditions are right.
'It can be any time, even tomorrow,' said Father John Chen Kun-chen, of the Chinese Regional Bishops' Conference, which co-ordinates Catholic churches in Taiwan. 'The Vatican is ready for it.'
Father Chen said normalisation of relations with the mainland would not harm Catholics in Taiwan.
'It is just moving the embassy from Taipei to Beijing,' he said. 'It is impossible for the Vatican to abandon its diplomatic ally. I believe the Holy See will deal with this properly.'
Monsignor Ambrose Madtha, the Vatican's charge d'affaires in Taipei, has said that if the Vatican moves its embassy to Beijing, it would work out a way for the 300,000 Catholics in Taiwan to be represented.
Father Chen pointed out that the Vatican wanted to normalise relations with Beijing because it could not abandon Catholics on the mainland. Official figures show there are about 4 million worshippers of the state-controlled church, but the Vatican estimates that the underground church has about 10 million followers.
Asked if the Vatican had ever thought of the feelings of Taiwanese followers towards a switch of ties, Father Chen admitted that some worshippers would be upset.
'The ideological conflict in Taiwan is serious. It is inevitable that some Catholics here would feel hurt if the Vatican moves its embassy to Beijing,' he said, referring to the ethnic split that has divided the island into pro-Taiwan and mainland-conciliatory camps.
When one considers the amazing impact that Pope John Paul II had on communism in Eastern Europe, one can only hope and pray that the present overtures to China will have a similar outcome.
I did a quick read of the letter on the Vatican's website early this morning, and I have a question.
What is the import of the Holy Father's revocation of prior "faculties" in connection with the Church in China, which appears at the conclusion of the letter?
Brassband, underground bishops were given permission to appoint and ordain Successors to the Apostles to neighboring dioceses without a mandate from the pope. Now they can no longer do this. They will now have to do it the normal way - with the pope appointing bishops like in the rest of the Catholic Church.
I think this will result in a change in the nature of the relationship between the Church and China.
Andrew --
Thanks for the response. Now I understand.
Commenting by HaloScan
