Vatican seeking closer ties with Taiwan

December 22, 2011

After years of downplaying relations with Taiwan, the Vatican is seeking closer diplomatic ties with the island nation, a potential ally in the struggle for religious freedom in mainland China.

In 2005 Cardinal Angelo Sodano, then the Vatican’s Secretary of State, announced that the Holy See would be prepared to break off diplomatic relations with Taiwan—“not tomorrow but tonight”—if that move could lead to formal diplomatic ties with Beijing. But after several years of an increasingly tense struggle for control of the Catholic Church in China, the Vatican is taking a different approach.

Two ranking Vatican officials recently returned from a visit to Taipei, where they concluded an agreement the status of Catholic schools and universities.

 

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Further information:

• The Vatican's diplomatic offensive against Taiwan (Vatican Insider)
• Vatican ready to quit Taiwan for ties with Beijing (CWN 10/26/2005)