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Taiwan Ambassador claims Vatican-China deal will not alter diplomatic ties

The Vatican reportedly believes a deal for the communist party to appoint bishops and manage church affairs is in the interests of Chinese Catholics

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File Photo: Taiwan Ambassador Matthew S.M. Lee and Pope Francis

File Photo: Taiwan Ambassador Matthew S.M. Lee and Pope Francis (CNA photo)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – As the Vatican appears to be approaching a deal with Beijing that would allow the communist party to select and approve Catholic bishops in China, Taiwan worries what impact such a deal might mean for the future of diplomatic relations with its only remaining ally in Europe.

According to reports, Taiwan’s ambassador to the Vatican Matthew S.M. Lee (李世明) recently met privately with Pope Francis to discuss Taiwan’s concerns over the issue. He has since reported that a deal between the Vatican and Beijing is unlikely to affect any change in diplomatic relations between the Vatican and Taipei.

Lee said that several officials at the Vatican asserted that “the agreement is aimed at handling Catholic religious affairs in China and carries no political or diplomatic connotations.”

Taiwan’s diplomatic relations with the Vatican should remain unaffected, Lee claims, while adding that he remains committed to strengthening Taiwan’s important ties to the Catholic Church.

Multiple recent reports have suggested that a deal may be signed as soon as Oct. 1.

The Wall Street Journal reported last week that the deal is rumored to stipulate that the CCP will recognize the Pope as the leader of China’s Catholic population, but that in exchange the Holy See will permit previously excommunicated bishops to manage affairs of the church in China, who would maintain regular contact with the government in Beijing.

Despite serious opposition to the prospective China-Vatican agreement by many Catholics in China, the Vatican asserts that the deal will be aimed at improving the situation for practicing Catholics in China. The Vatican believes the agreement will encourage increased religious freedom, reports UDN.

However, those statements from the Vatican seem incongruous to the recent reports that the Chinese government is stepping a campaign of persecution targeting Catholics and other religions across the country.

The Catholic Church is also embroiled in a developing global controversy involving sexual abuse carried out by the clergy, which makes many wonder why the Catholic Church would seek to give the communist party control over church affairs in China at this point in time.

According to the statements of Taiwan’s Ambassador, Pope Francis believes that a poor deal is better than no deal at all.

CNA quotes Ambassador Lee as saying:

"We believe the Vatican wants the agreement to give the Chinese people a chance to lead a normal life of faith, ease the oppression of Chinese Catholics, facilitate the integration of Chinese Catholic churches and universal churches, and in turn help promote religious freedom throughout China."

Although some have reportedly called the pending agreement a milestone in Vatican-China relations, a Vatican journalist Sandro Magister, has claimed it is a step backwards for the church, and that it clearly subverts church authority to an earthly sovereign.

Magister was quoted in the Australian:

“This is a strange step backward on terrain over which the church has fought, not for centuries but millennia. The church has managed to free itself from control of sovereigns and governments on ecclesiastical matters but now this achievement is clamorously contradicted by the agreement with China.”

Taiwan Ambassador claims Vatican-China deal will not alter diplomatic ties
(Associated Press Image, modified)