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.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
ANOTHER OPTION: The 13-year-old, whose residency status was revoked for holding a Chinese passport, could still apply for residency on humanitarian grounds, the government said The Executive Yuan has rejected an appeal from a 13-year-old Chinese student surnamed Lu (陸), whose permanent residency was revoked after immigration officers discovered he held a Chinese passport. Lu in December 2023 applied to settle in Taiwan to be with his mother, surnamed Lin (林), who is a Taiwan resident, an appeal decision released this month by the Executive Yuan showed. Lin settled in Taiwan after marrying a Taiwanese man in 2003, but the two divorced in 2011, and after marrying a Chinese man, she had Lu, the Executive Yuan’s appeals committee said. Lu’s application was approved in December 2024, and in
RSS