President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday extended his congratulations to Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost on his election as the new leader of the Catholic Church, saying Taiwan looked forward to collaborating with the Vatican on promoting peace, justice, religious freedom, unity and human dignity.
“We look forward to building on our diplomatic ties with the Holy See, 83 years strong, to advance peace, justice, solidarity and benevolence,” Lai wrote in English on X.
The Vatican is one of only 12 UN member states that have formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
Photo courtesy of Matthew Lee via CNA
While Lai did not attend the funeral of Pope Francis last month, he was represented by former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁), a Catholic.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that Lai had instructed Taiwan’s embassy in the Vatican to deliver congratulatory messages to Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, shortly after the conclusion of the papal conclave.
Taiwan and the Holy See have maintained close diplomatic relations for 83 years, the ministry said, adding that the government remains committed to strengthening bilateral ties.
The ministry did not confirm whether Lai would attend Pope Leo XIV’s inauguration. In 2013, then-president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) attended the inauguration of Pope Francis.
Taiwan’s embassy to the Vatican on Thursday shared a photo of outgoing Ambassador Matthew Lee (李世明) shaking hands with Prevost at a Vatican event in 2023. Leo, 69, is the first American to lead the Catholic Church.
Lee, who was to retire yesterday after serving as Taiwan’s ambassador to the Holy See since 2015, said he expects ties with the Vatican to further improve under Leo.
He said that Leo understands the distinction between democratic Taiwan and communist China — a perspective he believes would benefit Taiwan-Vatican ties.
Lee said he was particularly impressed by Leo during their meeting on Sept. 30, 2023, when he congratulated him on being named a cardinal by Francis.
After telling the newly appointed cardinal which country he represented, Prevost immediately acknowledged Taiwan and thanked him for the well wishes, Lee said.
Following the election of Leo, Anthony Ho (賀忠義) is set to take over as ambassador to the Holy See.
Lee reflected on the 12-year papacy of Francis — who he knew while serving as Taiwan’s representative to Argentina from 2011 to 2014 — saying that the Vatican’s 2018 provisional agreement with Beijing, which gave the pontiff the final say on the appointment of bishops in China, was an attempt to promote religious freedom and reinforce papal oversight of the Catholic Church there.
However, Lee said that Beijing had prevented Chinese bishops from attending Francis’ funeral, calling it a “cold response” that has raised concerns within the church.
Leo is “the second Roman pontiff from the Americas, after Pope Francis,” and spent many years as a missionary in Peru before being appointed in 2023 to lead the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, a biography released by Vatican News on Thursday said.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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