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VATICAN-CHINA Jun-23-2005 (780 words) xxxi
Diplomatic relations with China still possible, Vatican official says
By John Thavis
Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A top Vatican official said there were "no insurmountable problems" to establishing diplomatic relations between the Vatican and China.
Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo, the Vatican's equivalent of a foreign minister, said June 22 he was confident that, with "good will and a spirit of friendship" on both sides, diplomatic ties would eventually be reached.
The archbishop made the comments to Vatican Radio after returning from a swing through Southeast Asia for talks with church and civil leaders.
Asked about relations with China, Archbishop Lajolo said the Vatican has been studying the possibility of diplomatic relations with China for some time.
"In my view, there are no insurmountable problems. But we need to move forward with prudence and make sure some necessary conditions are met on both sides," he said.
"I am certain that with good will and a spirit of friendship, with which I'm sure both sides wanted to be inspired, we can reach a positive result," he said.
In the past, church officials have said the Vatican's two main conditions for diplomatic relations were the free appointment of bishops in China and freedom for Chinese Catholics to maintain religious links to Rome without government control.
An informed Vatican official said June 23 that those remain the "minimum" requirements for diplomatic ties. He said that while there have been recent signs of openness from China and increased contacts, no substantial progress has been made on these main points.
The official said the Vatican had paid careful attention to statements from the Chinese foreign ministry when Pope John Paul II died and after Pope Benedict XVI was elected. The ministry made a point of praising the late pope and expressed the hope that the new pontiff would create conditions for diplomatic relations.
As usual, China also repeated one of its own conditions for diplomatic relations: that the Holy See sever its relations with Taiwan. The Vatican considers that a secondary issue, and has said for several years that it is willing to move its embassy from Taiwan to Beijing if diplomatic relations are established with China.
"Taiwan is a pretext, and they know there's a solution," said the Vatican official, who asked not to be named.
"The problem is not a diplomatic one. The problem is a religious one: whether the government is capable of dealing with religion in a more serene manner. The problem is that they are not ready for this," he said.
In recent months, the Vatican newspaper has taken the unusual step of publishing laudatory obituaries of a few Chinese bishops who were never officially recognized by the Holy See.
Vatican sources said that although not explicitly stated, one could assume that these were bishops who, although belonging to the government-sponsored Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, managed to secretly reconcile with the pope. The Patriotic Association elects bishops without Vatican approval, and its role has been a major obstacle in China-Vatican relations.
One source said Pope John Paul privately recognized many of the Patriotic Association's bishops over the course of his pontificate. The Vatican considers the Chinese bishops who are created without the pope's approval as validly but illicitly ordained, which leaves room for possible reconciliation with Rome, he said.
In the Vatican Radio interview, Archbishop Lajolo emphasized that even without official diplomatic relations, the Vatican "recognizes" the reality of the Chinese state, its people and its history.
"How could one not recognize a state with 1.3 billion people like China, with its great tradition of culture, art, poetry and thought?" he said.
During his 12-day trip to Asia, Archbishop Lajolo visited Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei. All are countries with a very small Christian minority.
Asked what the Vatican wants from Asia, the archbishop replied: "As much as possible, freedom. At least the possibility to offer the church's services to those most in need, and to be accepted as a sincere and friendly partner in the pilgrimage toward a world more worthy of man," he said.
Archbishop Lajolo celebrated a memorial Mass in Phuket, Thailand, for the victims of the tsunami that devastated the region last December. He also presided over the opening of a church-sponsored housing project in a Thai village for families of fishermen who lost their lives in the disaster.
In Singapore, Archbishop Lajolo helped inaugurate an exhibit of Vatican art titled, "The Journey of Faith: Art and History from the Vatican Collections," and gave a well-attended talk on Vatican diplomacy.
In his talks with government officials of all four countries, the archbishop underlined the contributions of the minority Catholic communities, a Vatican statement said.
END
Copyright (c) 2005 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed.
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