Pope Francis’ special envoy arrived in Taiwan yesterday to attend the National Eucharistic Congress, a decision which shows that the Vatican deeply cherishes Catholics in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
Cardinal Fernando Filoni, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, is to attend the concluding celebration of the Fourth National Eucharistic Congress in Yunlin County today, the statement said.
At a meeting with Filoni at the Presidential Office Building yesterday, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said that Catholics have been a major force for good in Taiwan, where different religions have coexisted and interacted peacefully.
Photo: CNA
“The Vatican and Taiwan have held several religious meetings. We hope that Filoni’s visit will help further promote mutual understanding and exchanges between the two sides,” Tsai said.
Filoni’s visit is to last until Sunday. He also met with Vice President Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) yesterday and is due to attend a series of Catholic events, the ministry said.
The congress is a gathering of clergy and lay people to bear witness to the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, an important Roman Catholic doctrine, it said.
Since 2011, Taiwan’s seven Catholic dioceses have taken turns hosting the event every two to three years. This year’s congress is being hosted by the Diocese of Chiayi, but is to be staged at Yunlin County Stadium.
The pope in 2016 sent Cardinal Giuseppe Versaldi, prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education, to attend the Third National Eucharistic Congress, the ministry said.
The visit comes after a group of Taiwanese bishops in May last year held their first ad limina meeting with the pope in 10 years to report on the state of their dioceses.
The bishops invited the pope to visit Taiwan, but he decided to send Filoni instead.
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Yilan at 11:05pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter was located at sea, about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km, CWA data showed There were no immediate reports of damage. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Yilan County area on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. It measured 4 in other parts of eastern, northern and central Taiwan as well as Tainan, and 3 in Kaohsiung and Pingtung County, and 2 in Lienchiang and Penghu counties and 1
FOREIGN INTERFERENCE: Beijing would likely intensify public opinion warfare in next year’s local elections to prevent Lai from getting re-elected, the ‘Yomiuri Shimbun’ said Internal documents from a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company indicated that China has been using the technology to intervene in foreign elections, including propaganda targeting Taiwan’s local elections next year and presidential elections in 2028, a Japanese newspaper reported yesterday. The Institute of National Security of Vanderbilt University obtained nearly 400 pages of documents from GoLaxy, a company with ties to the Chinese government, and found evidence that it had apparently deployed sophisticated, AI-driven propaganda campaigns in Hong Kong and Taiwan to shape public opinion, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported. GoLaxy provides insights, situation analysis and public opinion-shaping technology by conducting network surveillance
‘POLITICAL GAME’: DPP lawmakers said the motion would not meet the legislative threshold needed, and accused the KMT and the TPP of trivializing the Constitution The Legislative Yuan yesterday approved a motion to initiate impeachment proceedings against President William Lai (賴清德), saying he had undermined Taiwan’s constitutional order and democracy. The motion was approved 61-50 by lawmakers from the main opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the smaller Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), who together hold a legislative majority. Under the motion, a roll call vote for impeachment would be held on May 19 next year, after various hearings are held and Lai is given the chance to defend himself. The move came after Lai on Monday last week did not promulgate an amendment passed by the legislature that
AFTERMATH: The Taipei City Government said it received 39 minor incident reports including gas leaks, water leaks and outages, and a damaged traffic signal A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Taiwan’s northeastern coast late on Saturday, producing only two major aftershocks as of yesterday noon, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The limited aftershocks contrast with last year’s major earthquake in Hualien County, as Saturday’s earthquake occurred at a greater depth in a subduction zone. Saturday’s earthquake struck at 11:05pm, with its hypocenter about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km. Shaking was felt in 17 administrative regions north of Tainan and in eastern Taiwan, reaching intensity level 4 on Taiwan’s seven-tier seismic scale, the CWA said. In Hualien, the
RSS