Daoist delegation visits the Vatican, asks Pope to maintain ties with Taiwan

道教代表團訪問梵蒂岡，請求教皇保持與台灣的聯繫

The leader of Bao'an Temple in Taipei delivered a letter to the Pope, urging the Holy See to keep its relationship with Taiwan


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – On Wednesday March 13, a delegation from Taiwan’s Bao’an Temple (大龍峒保安宮) made a visit to the Vatican as part of an interfaith religious dialogue event.

The head of the temple Liao Wu-jyh (廖武治) met with the Pope ahead of the official dialogue event, and delivered a letter asking the Vatican to maintains ties with Taiwan and not to abandon the country to embrace closer ties with China.

Liao’s letter noted the long history of friendship between the Vatican and Taiwan, while also emphasizing Taiwan’s commitment to protecting religious freedoms, reports CNA.

Over the past few months there has been speculation that the Vatican is close to a deal with the Communist party of China that would allow the Vatican a greater presence in the authoritarian country. However such an opportunity would likely come at the expense of Taiwan’s diplomatic relationship with the Holy See.

Many observers also think such an agreement would actually further stifle religious freedoms in China, since the religious activities of Catholics in China would be subject to more expansive scrutiny and regulation by the Communists, as opposed to the underground but mostly unmonitored activities as they are currently practiced.

Liao visited the Vatican as the head on an eight member delegation to discuss cooperation between different religious and cultural communities across the world. The goals of the dialogue are “to promote and safeguard universal values, namely, justice, peace, solidarity, friendship, freedom, and religious harmony” according to Vatican News.

A spokesman for the Pope said that the meeting between the Daoist delegation and Catholic leaders “marks a milestone in the relationship” and stated that both groups of religious leaders aim to be “advocates of justice and to be builders of peace.”

The Vatican News report on the event made no mention of the letter delivered by Liao or the diplomatic situation regarding Taiwan and China.

The date of the event also marked the fifth anniversary since Francis was declared as Pope, making him the political leader of the Holy See, and spiritual leader of the world’s Catholics.

President Tsai congratulated the Pope on the occasion from Taipei, and gave an open invitation for him to visit Taiwan. Liao also reportedly did the same in the letter he delivered.

Last week Taiwanese Premier William Lai dismissed claims that the Vatican was preparing to shift diplomatic ties from Taiwan to China.