The American Spectator

Special Report

One Vatican Promise to Keep

By Doug Bandow on 4.21.05 @ 12:06AM

WASHINGTON -- Much could change with the death of Pope John Paul II. He was a unique individual chosen at a dangerous moment in time that, thankfully, has passed. No successor, even one as close to him as was the now Pope Benedict XVI, is likely to govern the church or become a spiritual symbol in the same way.

But there is one commitment of John Paul II's that should stand: Vatican recognition of Taiwan.

The exchange of ambassadors between secular governments and the Catholic Church always has been a bit odd. While the Pontiff's spiritual influence is enormous, the Holy See has -- appropriately -- little temporal sway. Nevertheless, it routinely swaps ambassadors with countries.

Recognition of Taiwan, officially the Republic of China, essentially followed after the communist revolutionary government expelled the Papal Nuncio, or Vatican representative, in 1951. Since then all but 25 nations have dropped Taipei for the People's Republic of China, which demands exclusive relations.

Occasionally the teams change. Macedonia wandered from PRC to ROC and back to PRC between 1993 and 2001. Beijing's abandonment of Maoism and growing economic success have given it a decided edge. In Europe only the Holy See recognizes Taiwan.

But after Pope John Paul II's death, Bishop Joseph Zen, head of Hong Kong's Catholic Church, opined that the Vatican was "ready to renounce diplomatic ties with Taiwan." He suggested that the latter would understand if the move improved freedom for believers in China.

Beijing had offered its best wishes during the Pope's final illness. After Zen's remarks, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao indicated his government's interest in bettering relations.

There was a large "but," however: "In order to realize the normalization of ties between China and the Vatican, the Vatican should give up interfering in China's religious affairs and cut off diplomatic ties with Taiwan."

Taipei professes to be unconcerned and Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian attended John Paul II's funeral. The papal embassy in Taiwan noted that ties remained unchanged. An unnamed employee was quoted as saying: "many people think Pope John Paul II was responsible for retaining ties with Taiwan, but this is simply not true."

In fact, Pope John Paul II sought to improve relations between the Catholic Church and China in order to expand freedom to worship in the PRC. In 2001 he apologized for "errors" committed by missionaries and declared: "the normalization of relations between the People's Republic of China and the Holy See would undoubtedly have positive repercussions for humanity's progress."

Nothing came of the move and Beijing remains hostile to Catholics. In fact, the PRC fears all Christians, since they are loyal to something beyond to communism and China. An official paper from the State Council of the PRC denounces past "domination," "aggression," "colonialism," and "imperialism" as practiced by Protestants as well as Catholics.

But China is particularly antagonistic to Catholicism, a truly transnational organization. Complained the PRC, "the Vatican took repeated political actions of hostility against New China." Indeed, "After the founding of the New China in 1949 the Vatican issued papal encyclicals several times instigating hatred against the new people's political power among the converts."

Nevertheless, the PRC might use the death of Pope John Paul II as an opportunity for proffering a deal. Give us recognition and we will relax our religious restrictions a bit.

It would be a bad bargain.

In most cases diplomatic relations with the Holy See matter little. But here change in recognition would have enormous symbolic consequences.

Letter to the Editor

topics:
Religion, Catholicism, Communism