The dialogue between the Vatican and China has been limited to ecclesiastical affairs and has not touched upon political or diplomatic issues, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday.
“During his meeting with Vice President Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) at the Vatican in early September, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who serves as the Vatican’s secretary of state, said that the Holy See must engage in dialogue with Beijing for the purposes of evangelization and pastoral work to solve problems related to the promotion of the Catholic Church,” the ministry said in a statement.
Parolin said the talks have only been about church-related matters and have not touched upon political issues or diplomatic relations, the ministry said, adding that it has a decent understanding of interactions between the Holy See and Beijing and has conducted regular strategic analyses.
The ministry was responding to a Chinese-language report published on Radio France Internationale’s Web site on Saturday that cited anonymous sources as saying the negotiations between the Vatican and Beijing about establishing diplomatic ties have reached the final stage and that the two sides are inclined to establish a formal relationship.
The report also quoted Renmin University of China international relations professor Wang Yiwei (王義桅) as telling French media that the Vatican and China are likely to solve the issue of the appointment of bishops by following the “Vietnamese model” set up in 2010.
Under the model, the Vatican would be able to appoint bishops in appearance after they are chosen by the Chinese government, Wang was quoted as saying.
The Vatican, Taiwan’s sole European diplomatic ally, is believed to be one of the states most likely to switch diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing.
The fear of losing the Holy See has been renewed after Sao Tome and Principe, an African nation that had been Taiwan’s diplomatic ally since 1997, cut ties with Taipei last week.
The ministry reiterated its determination to reinforce Taipei’s cooperative relationship with the Vatican based on the universal values of peace and freedom and to promote mutual visits of high-level officials from both sides.
“We will participate in international events held by the Holy See and do our utmost to consolidate our cooperation with it on humanitarian charities to become an indispensable partner to the Vatican and the international community in promoting kindness and peace,” the ministry said.
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