In this photo provided by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, Pope Francis ... more >China welcomed aboard Pope Francis 1, the former Argentine Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, with a formal statement of congratulations on Thursday. But in the next breath, the nation issued a thinly veiled warning.
Cut ties with Taiwan, Foreign Minister spokeswoman Hua Chunying said to the new Vatican head, The Associated Press reports. Taiwan is not a sovereign democracy, but rather a Chinese territory, and should not be treated by the Vatican as if it’s a separate government, the spokeswoman said, AP reports.
SEE RELATED: Pope Francis from Argentina is first Jesuit, first from Americas
The Vatican’s response, AP reports: The Vatican will be happy to cut ties with Taiwan so long as Beijing can prove its government will grant full freedom of religious worship, absent Communist Party condemnations.
China demanded that Chinese Catholics sever ties with the pope 50-plus years ago, AP reports.
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Cheryl Chumley is a continuous news writer for The Washington Times. Previously, she was part of the start-up team for The Washington Times’ digital aggregation product, Times247. She’s also a 2008-2009 Robert Novak journalism fellow with The Phillips Foundation. She can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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