Taiwan’s outgoing ambassador to the Vatican Matthew Lee (李世明) said that the newly appointed Pope Leo XIV understands the difference between “democratic Taiwan and communist China,” expressing confidence in the continued development of Taiwan-Vatican relations.
Leo, whose real name is Robert Prevost, was elected as the surprise choice to be the new leader of the Catholic Church yesterday, becoming the first US pope.
Taiwan’s embassy to the Vatican today posted a picture of Lee shaking hands with Leo at a Vatican event in 2023.
Photo courtesy of Matthew Lee via CNA
On that occasion, Leo said he could clearly distinguish between “democratic Taiwan and communist China,” Lee told CNA.
Although US President Donald Trump quickly congratulated Leo on his appointment, the new pope has a history of criticizing Trump’s policies, according to posts on the X account of Robert Prevost.
Massimo Faggioli, an Italian academic who has followed the papacy closely, suggested the tenor of the Trump presidency might have influenced the cardinals to choose a pope from the US, who could directly rebut the president.
Taiwan’s new ambassador to the Vatican, Ho Chung-yi (賀忠義), is a good choice for the moment, as Ho is very familiar with US affairs, Lee said.
Lee served as ambassador to the Vatican for 10 years and is now returning to Taiwan to retire.
President William Lai (賴清德) congratulated Leo on his appointment, saying Taiwan hopes to continue working with the Vatican to pursue peace, justice and religious freedom, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today.
The Vatican is one of only 12 countries to retain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, though Lai did not attend Pope Francis’ funeral last month, sending instead former vice president Chen Chien-jen, a devout Catholic.
The ministry said in a statement that Lai had sent his congratulatory message via its embassy to the Vatican.
Lai “stressed that Taiwan looks forward to continuing to work with the Holy See to jointly pursue peace, justice, religious freedom, solidarity, fraternity and human dignity,” the statement said.
This year marks the 83rd anniversary of diplomatic relations between Taiwan and the Vatican, and the two sides share values such as religious freedom, human rights, peace and love, the ministry said.
“Taiwan will continue to promote various exchanges and cooperation with the Holy See, to further strengthen bilateral relations, and to make more contributions to the world together,” it said.
The ministry did not say whether Lai would attend Leo's inauguration.
Former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) today said the president, vice president or the minister of foreign affairs would like to be invited to the inauguration.
It would depend on the negotiations between the foreign ministry and Vatican, he said.
Chen said he believes the world would move towards peace, justice, kindness and compassion under the new pope’s leadership.
China has yet to comment on the US-born Leo's appointment.
The late Pope Francis signed an agreement on appointing bishops in China in 2018, which Lee said was mainly to promote religious freedom so that all Chinese Catholics could lead a normal life.
But judging from recent trends, China is more focused on Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) policy to Sinicize religion, which has led to internal disagreements over relations with the Vatican, Lee said.
Although Francis had a favorable outlook towards China compared with previous popes, China did not allow any Chinese bishops to attend Francis’ funeral, which caused more doubts about China within the Catholic Church, he said.
Additional reporting by Chiu Chih-jou and Fion Khan
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