Outgoing ambassador positive on Taiwan-Vatican ties under new pope

Vatican City, May 9 (CNA) The outgoing Republic of China (Taiwan) ambassador to the Holy See said Thursday he expects ties with the Vatican to further improve under newly elected Pope Leo XIV.

Matthew Lee (李世明), who will retire as Taiwan's ambassador to the Holy See and leave the Vatican on Friday, told CNA that Robert Prevost, the newly elected 267th pontiff, understands the difference between democratic Taiwan and communist China.

The outgoing ambassador, who took office in 2015, told CNA he was most impressed with Prevost when they met on Sept. 30, 2023, and he congratulated him on being named a cardinal by the late Pope Francis.

After Lee told the newly appointed cardinal which country he represented, Prevost immediately acknowledged Taiwan and thanked him for the well wishes, Lee said.

Following the election of Leo XIV as the new pope, Anthony Ho (賀忠義) will take over as ambassador.

Lee reflected on the 12-year papacy of the late Pope Francis, whom he knew while serving as Taiwan's representative to Argentina from 2011 to 2014, saying that the Vatican's 2018 provisional agreement with Beijing -- giving the Pope the final say on the appointment of bishops in China -- aimed to promote religious freedom in China and affirm the pope's authority over the Catholic Church there.

However, Lee noted that China barred its bishops from attending the funeral of Pope Francis, a move he described as a "cold response" that has raised questions within the Church.

According to a biography released by Vatican News Thursday, Prevost, 69, is "the second Roman Pontiff from the Americas, after Pope Francis" and "spent many years as a missionary in Peru" before being called to Rome in 2023 to lead the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.