Worshipers at Masses in Hong Kong and Taiwan yesterday were largely upbeat about a new deal between China and the Vatican, despite fears Beijing is trying to increase control over the Catholic Church.
Cardinal Joseph Zen (陳日君), the outspoken former bishop of Hong Kong, accused Vatican officials of “selling out” ahead of Saturday’s agreement and in a blog post shortly after the announcement he raised concern over its impact.
“What will the government say to Catholics in China? ‘Obey us, the Holy See is already in agreement with us?’” the cardinal wrote.
Photo: Daniel Shih, AFP
Comments on social media accused the Vatican of turning a blind eye to a “silent cultural revolution” in China, where churches have been destroyed in recent months and there has been a clampdown on Bible sales.
However, churchgoers in Hong Kong gave the deal a cautious welcome.
A parishioner who gave her name as Teresa at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Hong Kong said: “More contact is positive,” adding that she was not worried warming ties between Beijing and the Vatican would lead to interference in the territory’s Catholic churches.
Photo: Daniel Shih, AFP
Another who gave her name as Nikki said: “Any cooperation between the two sides has to be a good thing, as long as it’s equal cooperation.”
In Taiwan, some worshipers worried the new deal meant the nation would lose its only official ally in Europe.
Online comments on the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) Facebook page accused the Vatican of “dealing with the devil,” but churchgoers remained confident.
“I think the pope’s consideration in signing the agreement is to promote religious freedom rather than establishing diplomatic relations with China, so there is no need to politicize him,” said parishioner Yuan Shi-min at Our Lady of Fatima in Taipei.
China’s 12 million Catholics are divided between a state-run association whose clergy are chosen by the government and an unofficial church that swears allegiance to the pope.
The agreement struck on Saturday was aimed at resolving a decades-old dispute over who gets to name Catholic bishops in China, and could lead to a rapprochement for the first time since diplomatic ties were severed in 1951.
Shortly after the deal was announced, Pope Francis recognized seven clergy appointed by Beijing.
China’s state-supervised Catholic Patriotic Association yesterday reaffirmed its loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party, while welcoming the deal.
The Catholic Church in China said it would “persevere to walk a path suited to a socialist society, under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party.”
It “deeply loved the motherland” and “sincerely endorsed” the agreement, hoping relations between China and the Vatican would improve further, it added in comments on its Web site.
Additional reporting by Reuters
CLOSURES: Several forest recreation areas have been closed as a precaution, while some ferry and flight services have been suspended or rescheduled A land warning for Tropical Storm Danas was issued last night at 8:30pm, as the storm’s outer bands began bringing heavy rain to southeastern regions, including Hualien and Taitung counties, and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島), according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). As of 9:15pm, the storm was approximately 330km west-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, moving north-northeast at 10-20kph, the CWA reported. A sea warning had already been issued at 8:30am yesterday. The storm had maximum sustained winds near its center of 83kph, with gusts of up to 108kph, according to the CWA. As of 9:30pm last night, Kaohsiung, Tainan,
POWERFUL DETERRENT: Precision fire and dispersed deployment of units would allow Taiwanese artillery to inflict heavy casualties in an invasion, a researcher said The nation’s military has boosted its self-defense capability with the establishment of a new company equipped with the US-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS). The company, part of the army’s 58th Artillery Command, is Taiwan’s first HIMARS unit. Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄), who presided over the formation ceremony in Taichung on Friday, called the unit a significant addition to the nation’s defensive strength, saying it would help deter adversaries from starting a war. The unit is made up of top-performing soldiers who received training in the US, according to the Ministry of National Defense. The HIMARS can be equipped with
UNILATERAL: The move from China’s aviation authority comes despite a previous 2015 agreement that any changes to flight paths would be done by consensus The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday slammed Beijing for arbitrarily opening the M503 flight route’s W121 connecting path, saying that such unilateral conduct disrespected the consensus between both sides and could destabilize the Taiwan Strait and the wider region. The condemnation came after the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) earlier yesterday announced it “has activated the W121 connecting path of the M503 flight route,” meaning that west-to-east flights are now permitted along the path. The newly activated west-to-east route is intended to “alleviate the pressure caused by the increase of flights,” China’s state-run Xinhua news agency quoted China’s Taiwan Affairs Office
STRONG WINDS: Without the Central Mountain Range as a shield, people should be ready for high-speed winds, CWA weather forecaster Liu Yu-chi said Danas was yesterday upgraded to a typhoon and could grow stronger as it moves closely along the nation’s west coastline, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Hsinchu and Chiayi cities, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Hsinchu, Miaoli, Changhua, Yunlin, Nantou, Chiayi, Penghu and Pingtung counties have canceled work and school today. Work and school in Keelung, Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan, and Yilan, Taitung, Hualien, Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties would continue as usual, although offices and schools would be closed in Taoyuan’s Luju (蘆竹), Dayuan (大園), Guangyin (觀音) and Sinwu (新屋) districts. As of 5pm yesterday, the typhoon’s
RSS