Papal envoy Cardinal Paul Cordes arrived in Kaohsiung yesterday, where he prayed for the victims of Typhoon Marakot.
Cardinal Cordes, who is president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, which coordinates Catholic charities, attended a mass at a Catholic church in Kaohsiung City, where he conveyed Pope Benedict XVI’s concern for survivors of one of the deadliest storms in Taiwan in half a century.
Cordes said in his prayers at the church that in several masses said over the past month, the pope had prayed for Taiwan and those who suffered in the devastation.
PHOTO: CNA
“The pope is with you and offers his condolences to those who lost their loved ones,” Cordes said.
HEAVEN
He consoled survivors by saying that although their relatives and loved ones were gone, they were now in heaven.
After the mass, the cardinal, accompanied by Monsignor Paul Russell, the Holy See’s new charge d’affaires in Taiwan, headed to the Republic of China Military Academy to console people displaced by floodwaters and mudslides triggered by the typhoon who are temporarily sheltering at the academy.
Liu Chen-chung (劉振忠), bishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Kaohsiung, said the cardinal donated US$25,000 on behalf of the pope as a gesture of sympathy for the victims.
raising money
Ma Yi-nan (馬以南), elder sister of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who also accompanied the cardinal during his trip, said she personally raised more than NT$10 million (US$304,000) in the US for the victims.
Of the total, she said, NT$8 million was donated to the Catholic Archdiocese of Kaohsiung and the remaining NT$2 million was distributed to several other charitable organizations.
The German cardinal arrived in Taiwan on Friday for a nine-day visit, primarily to attend an international humanitarian assistance conference in Taipei and to provide spiritual guidance and comfort to the survivors of Morakot.
SPIRITUAL EXERCISE
Cordes is scheduled to preside over the Spiritual Exercise for the Leaders of the Church’s Charitable Organization in Asia 2009, scheduled to open today at Fu Jen Catholic University in Taipei.
The event, to be held in Taiwan for the first time, is not only bringing together four other cardinals and more than 60 archbishops from around the region, but is also expected to be attended by 450 people from 29 Asian countries who participate in charity activities.
On behalf of the Pope, the Holy See’s embassy in Taiwan has donated US$50,000 to help with disaster relief and reconstruction operations.
Cordes is a long-standing friend of Taiwan and he visited the nation in January 2000 to comfort survivors of the Sept. 21, 1999 earthquake, which killed nearly 2,500 people.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS