China recently received the first batch of missionaries trained in Taiwan as part of a bilateral project launched about four years ago by Taiwan and the Vatican to help the Holy See’s religious outreach in China, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
A total of 146 Catholic clergymen and nuns from China participated in theological training in Taiwan, undertaken by Fu Jen University since the program was launched in 2010, of which 51 have returned to China, the ministry said.
Zhang Ming-zhong (張銘忠), director-general of the ministry’s Department of European Affairs, said the nation began to assist with training four years ago “only after many obstacles were overcome,” without giving details.
The Holy See’s top envoy to Taiwan, Monsignor Paul Fitzpatrick Russell, proposed the idea when he took up the position six years ago, Zhang said.
“But there were many concerns [within the government] before it decided to open up enrollment to students from mainland China,” he said.
Zhang made the remarks when Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lin (林永樂) sat down with the press yesterday to talk about his recent trip to the Vatican. Lin attended the beatification ceremony of Pope Paul VI on Sunday as President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) envoy.
In the Vatican’s efforts to assist the growth of the church in China, the Holy See expects that Taiwan can act as a bridge by training Catholic clergymen and nuns from China, in the same way as the Philippines has been doing, Lin said.
Lin said he had meetings with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, other senior officials of the Holy See and the Grand Master of the Sovereign Order of Malta Matthew Festing during his two-day stay in Rome.
Lin said the relationship between Taiwan and the Holy See is cordial and stable because they share universal values.
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