Cardinal Paul Shan (
The 83-year-old Shan is the only Taiwanese or ethnic Chinese cardinal. He is expected to become a key adviser to the new pontiff on religious affairs in China. He told the Central News Agency in Rome that it is difficult to estimate whether the Vatican's ties with China will improve after John Paul II's successor is elected.
The Holy See will not have further contact with Beijing unless the people in China are granted full religious freedom. As religious freedom remains restricted in China, there is little possibility that the Vatican will develop deeper relations with Beijing, the cardinal said.
China's attitude toward religious freedom "is unlikely to change overnight," said Shan, who departed for the Vatican for meetings at the end of last month.
John Paul II was a great religious leader, Shan said, and it would be difficult for his successor to attain the level of his accomplishments. He noted, however, that the Pope's job is to serve humanity and the whole world. Each Pope has a different style of leadership, he said. The new Pope should be someone who will work hard for peace for all people and ethnic reconciliation, Shan added.
"The new Pope should understand developments in the world and be able to solve problems in the Church," he said.
Cardinals from all over the world are on their way to the Vatican now. Their main tasks are to arrange John Paul II's funeral, elect the new Pope and receive heads of state who will attend the funeral, Shan said.
Shan said the cardinals would not discuss problems in individual parishes or regions for now.
The news agency quoted a source familiar with operations in the Vatican as saying that no matter who the new pontiff is, church problems in China will be one of the issues he will be concerned about.
"Shan will play a vital role in forming the new Pope's perspective on China," the source said.
Meanwhile, a memorial mass for John Paul II was held in Taipei's Holy Family Catholic Church yesterday. Governmental officials and political leaders, including Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Francisco Hwang (黃瀧元) and People First Party Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜), attended the mass.
Foreign diplomats in Taiwan, some of them Catholics, also joined the mass with hundreds of believers. Many wept during the service as they sang hymns and listened to a sermon preached by Archbishop Joseph Cheng (
The Vatican's representative to Taipei, Monsignor Ambrose Madtha, also participated in the service.
In his sermon, Cheng remembered John Paul II's humility in apologizing to China for errors the Church had made in China in the past during an international convention in Rome in 2001.
Cheng, who attended the Rome convention, said he wept as he heard the papal apology.
"How humble John Paul II was and how great his love is for the Chinese people," he said.
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