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Vatican 'will abandon Taiwan to win China's Catholics'
The Vatican is preparing to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan as part of an historic fence-mending exercise with Beijing that could allow Chinese Roman Catholics to practise freely for the first time in 50 years. The deal, discussed by a senior cardinal as Pope John Paul II was on his deathbed, would pave the way for an estimated eight million Roman Catholics to resume official ties with the Vatican and hold services without fear of persecution.Just hours after the Pope died last week, the outcome of the delicate negotiations was revealed by Bishop Joseph Zen Ze-kiun from Hong Kong, who is considered the Vatican's leading adviser on Chinese issues. Bishop Zen said: "The Holy See has been thinking of giving up Taiwan. This is a difficult [decision], but it has decided to do it. If the Holy See does not establish [diplomatic] ties with China, Catholics there will not have real freedom." His comments came days after a visit to Beijing by the influential Belgian cardinal, Godfried Danneels, who is considered a potential successor to John Paul II. [T]he Vatican is hopeful of ushering in an era of improved relations. "If the Chinese government is willing to grant real freedom to the Church in mainland China, the Vatican would reluctantly be willing to give up its diplomatic relations with Taiwan," Bishop Zen said. China's Roman Catholic population frequently complains of being harassed and jailed by the authorities. Although there is also an official state-backed Catholic church, with about five million followers, it rejects any Vatican role in appointing its bishops or priests. Beijing is insisting, however, that the Vatican cuts ties with Taiwan, where about 300,000 of its 23 million people are Catholics, before any further official discussions are held. Taiwan has diplomatic relations with 25 countries, mostly developing nations in Africa and Latin America. Taiwan insisted that its relations with the Vatican would endure. "Relations between the Holy See and Taiwan will remain unchanged," a foreign ministry spokesman said in Taipei. "The foreign ministry will continue to push for mutual visits by the Vatican and Taiwanese leaders to strengthen bilateral understanding and consolidate relations." Bishop Zen said that the Vatican's desire to resume appointing bishops in China would not constitute interference with the country's domestic affairs. "The Pope appoints bishops everywhere and nobody is offended," he said. "We hope the Chinese government can understand this. The Holy See just wants religious peace for its people. It has no political ambitions whatsoever." Qin Gang, a spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry, reacted with scepticism, claiming that the country's state-approved Catholics "had chosen to run their church independently amid a struggle against colonialism, imperialism and slavery". He said that China's constitution banned religious groups and affairs from being controlled by foreign forces. It is thought that a compromise may be found in which Chinese and Vatican officials have a say in running the Catholic church. Mr Gang said that the Taiwanese president travelled to Rome simply to promote his country's ambitions for further recognition as a sovereign state. "His real intention is to take this opportunity to engage in secessionist activity and create two Chinas, or one China and one Taiwan, which is what we are opposed to," he said. Posted by: Bulldog 2005-04-10 |
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