FEATURED IMAGE: Rome Reports
Jasmin Yiu
The Chinese Regional Bishops’ Conference (CRBC) met with Pope Francis for their ad limina visit on May 14. In the interview with Radio Veritas Asia at the Taipei airport on May 16, Archbishop Hung Shan-Chuan of CRBC said that the Holy Father knows the situation of Taiwan and the mainland China very well.
On whether the Holy Father promised to visit Taiwan, Archbishop Hung said, “I explained, saying there will be an opportunity for him to visit Taiwan next March 1, on the occasion of the National Eucharistic Congress, scheduled to take place next March 1. Another chance will be the Apostolic Congress. I said, ‘If [the Holy Father] cannot come [for the entire Congress], at least a short stay.’ He kept smiling. Of course he cannot promise on the spot, he needs to consult with the Secretary of State.”
Regarding the relationship between Taiwan and the mainland, Hung said, “We had bishops asking, ‘Is there an agreement yet? What are the difficulties?’ The Pope explained that both sides are very firm. The Holy See has no any plans of compromising, but plans to insist on the teachings and doctrine of the Church. The right and power to designate bishops is still in the hands of the Pope, and certainly the Church is not giving this up. Of course the other party (the Mainland) will never say, ‘Follow your plan.’ That is the deadlock. I also told him, whenever there is something, the media speculates, then the people of Taiwan suffer, because everyone (in Taiwan) lives in a horrible atmosphere, fearing another severance of diplomatic relations.” It will be remembered that many countries have severed diplomatic ties after the Green Party came to power.
“However, the people of Taiwan cannot understand is that,” the Bishop added. “Taiwan is part of the Church, our church in Taiwan unites with Vatican. How can the Pope deviate from us, and leave us alone just like other countries in the world? Of course no, because the shepherd never gives up his flock, so he (the Holy Father) assures us about this, the Church is the Church. He knows our situation (in Taiwan), and he also knows the situation in the Mainland. We thought that he doesn’t know well, but in fact, he knows perfectly well.
“We have also reported to him the insufficient number of vocations in Taiwan, and also other topics like passing the measures to legalize homosexual marriage, schools’ textbook issues, inter-religious draft issues… we have all told him. He understands and knows a lot, we thought he doesn’t understand, but it’s not so. So we were very happy that, he knews our situation.” The seven bishops had a chance to celebrate the weekday mass with the Pope on May 15.
On May 12, the bishops also met Cardinal Parolin, the Secretary of State. Archbishop Hung said, “We know him before he became the Secretary of State. We understand his standpoint and difficulties. After talking to him, (we found him) very humble and very polite. He listened to our complaints, on unfairness and our needs. In the one-and-a-half-hour meeting, he listened to us attentively, and answered our questions seriously. One bishop asked him why the agreement (with mainland) was not successful, he answered ‘because both parties insisted, and are not able to compromise. (Though the media kept on saying) how can the Vatican comprise? How can the Vatican give up her standpoint?’ In fact, it is the Vatican that has been extremely insistent on its position. If the Vatican does not adhere to her standpoint, it would have long been a condition of compromise. Therefore, we admire Parolin, he knows clearly about the situation.”
When asked what he considered the biggest gift from the trip, the archbishop said, “Originally, we thought the Pope and Cardinal Parolin don’t fully understand the feelings of Taiwan people, but after meeting them (the Pope for 1 hour and Cardinal Parolin for 1.5 hours), we realized they know perfectly the situation in Taiwan, and they understand the difficulties in Taiwan, and sadness of our people; they all know. They really exceeded our expectation and imagination.
The Pope has been telling us, ‘The Church in mainland China is our sister, and there is only one church in the world – Catholic Church. But there are still many churches suffering, so we want everyone to pray.’ One of the bishops asked the Holy Father to pray for Taiwan, and he immediately answered ‘I have been waiting you to say this, to say to pray for you; you too have to pray for me.’ This atmosphere made me feel like in a family gathering, an atmosphere that cannot be found in normal governmental officials. It’s a natural aura. He even said, ‘The toilet is here, you can go anytime!’”
With reports from Radio Veritas Asia.
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