Vice President Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) has been accused of impropriety and ignorant behavior during his recent visit to the Vatican, when he was seen partaking in the Eucharist sacrament, which should only be done by baptized Catholics.
Wu visited the Holy See to attend Sunday’s canonization of two popes, John Paul II and John XXIII. The canonization was presided over by Pope Francis, and witnessed by a crowd of 800,000 at St Peter’s Square.
However, some have criticized Wu for apparently violating religious protocol.
Photo: CNA
During the canonization ceremony, Wu was reported to have taken and ingested the communion wafer and wine during the Eucharist.
In a letter to the Liberty Times (sister newspaper of the Taipei Times), a reader surnamed Tung (董) criticized the vice president over what he said was Wu’s ignorant and imprudent conduct by partaking in the Eucharist.
“Wu is not a Catholic, but during the ritual he ingested the Eucharist offering of bread and wine. This is very improper conduct. His behavior was disrespectful to the diplomatic relationship between Taiwan and the Vatican,” Tung wrote.
“In the future, when the president or the vice president attend an important international event, they should put more effort into learning proper protocol and etiquette. This can prevent them from becoming a laughingstock in the international community,” Tung said.
The Eucharist, also known as Holy Communion, is a sacred ritual in Christianity, in which unleavened bread pieces and wine represent the body and blood of Jesus Christ.
According to Catholic tradition, only baptized Catholics are permitted to participate in the Eucharist.
A foreign affairs veteran, who declined to be named, said that in the past when government officials visited the Vatican to attend a Catholic Church service, Taiwan’s diplomatic representative always gave reminders that non-Catholics must not partake in the Eucharist.
A secretary for Taiwan’s Catholic Bishops’ Conference confirmed that the Eucharist should be only for Catholics who have undergone baptism by an ordained priest.
“Take this case involving Vice President Wu. It may be that he joined in because others nearby in the diplomatic group were doing so, and nobody reminded Wu about the rules,” the secretary, surnamed Liao (廖), said.
“Actually, I think this case was not too serious. Unless Wu had known about the restriction and breached it on purpose, which would be very disrespectful,” he said.
A number of netizens criticized Wu over the Eucharist incident.
One person surnamed Lin (林) accused Wu of “lacking understanding of diplomatic protocols,” while another netizen wrote: “Wu has shamed himself at the Vatican.”
Another posted under the name Chou: “Wu is an ignoramus. This shows that someone with a high education may not have wisdom or common sense.”
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
A former soldier and an active-duty army officer were yesterday indicted for allegedly selling classified military training materials to a Chinese intelligence operative for a total of NT$79,440. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Chen Tai-yin (陳泰尹) and Lee Chun-ta (李俊達) for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例). Chen left the military in September 2013 after serving alongside then-staff sergeant Lee, now an army lieutenant, at the 21st Artillery Command of the army’s Sixth Corps from 2011 to 2013, according to the indictment. Chen met a Chinese intelligence operative identified as “Wang” (王) through a friend in November
RSS