Government officials yesterday tried to play down comments by the Vatican foreign minister, who said on Saturday that the "time is ripe" for the Holy See to establish diplomatic relations with China and move its embassy out of Taiwan.
In an interview with Hong Kong station I-Cable TV, Holy See Foreign Minister Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo said that the spiritual needs of the several million Catholics in China are more urgent than those of the 300,000 Catholics in Taiwan, according to reports carried by the Associated Press and Reuters.
"As is known, there have already been various contacts [between the Vatican and China], with ups and downs," Lajolo said. "It seems to me that the Holy See has clearly explained what it is asking for, what it is ready to concede and what it can never give up if it is to remain faithful to itself. In our opinion, the time is ripe."
"For this reason, the Holy See has manifested its willingness to transfer the apostolic nunciature [Vatican embassy] from Taipei to Beijing just as in 1952, on account of the circumstances of the time, it transferred the nunciature from mainland China to Taiwan," Lajolo said.
"The governments of Beijing, as well as that of Taipei, are aware of this because the Holy See is concerned about speaking to both governments with one voice," Lajolo added.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) initially cast aspersions on the reports, telling reporters that the media had gotten it wrong.
"The report is not correct. What we know is that there are still obstacles in the Vatican's talks on opening ties China," Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesman Michel Lu (
But MOFA backed down when asked whether it was saying that Lajolo had not made the comments.
"I will not comment on media reports," Lu told the Taipei Times. He emphasized however, that Taiwan's relations with the Vatican were solid.
Lu said Lajolo told Tou at a Friday meeting that there was no progress in talks between the Vatican and Beijing because China has not agreed to the Vatican's demands.
"The Holy See seeks to establish ties with Beijing only to help gain freedoms for preaching Catholicism on the mainland," Lu said.
Premier Su Tseng-chang (
Lajolo on Saturday said that the Vatican doesn't intend to weaken its "bonds of friendship" with Taiwanese Catholics and the entire population.
The text of Lajolo's comments was made available at the Vatican during the ceremonies installing 15 new cardinals, including Hong Kong Bishop Joseph Zen (陳日君), an outspoken champion of religious freedom in China.
Analysts see Zen's appointment as the Vatican's expression of support for China's Catholics and a goodwill gesture toward Beijing.
In recent years the Vatican has expressed the wish to reopen ties with China, but China has set two conditions: the Vatican must not interfere in China's domestic affairs -- which means it must allow Beijing to appoint bishops -- and must cut ties with Taipei first.
The authority to appoint bishops has been a major obstacle in relations between the Vatican and China. The Vatican moved its embassy from China to Taipei in 1957 because of Beijing's persecution of Chinese Catholics.
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