Vice President Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) has been accused of impropriety and ignorant behavior during his recent visit to the Vatican, when he was seen partaking in the Eucharist sacrament, which should only be done by baptized Catholics.
Wu visited the Holy See to attend Sunday’s canonization of two popes, John Paul II and John XXIII. The canonization was presided over by Pope Francis, and witnessed by a crowd of 800,000 at St Peter’s Square.
However, some have criticized Wu for apparently violating religious protocol.
Photo: CNA
During the canonization ceremony, Wu was reported to have taken and ingested the communion wafer and wine during the Eucharist.
In a letter to the Liberty Times (sister newspaper of the Taipei Times), a reader surnamed Tung (董) criticized the vice president over what he said was Wu’s ignorant and imprudent conduct by partaking in the Eucharist.
“Wu is not a Catholic, but during the ritual he ingested the Eucharist offering of bread and wine. This is very improper conduct. His behavior was disrespectful to the diplomatic relationship between Taiwan and the Vatican,” Tung wrote.
“In the future, when the president or the vice president attend an important international event, they should put more effort into learning proper protocol and etiquette. This can prevent them from becoming a laughingstock in the international community,” Tung said.
The Eucharist, also known as Holy Communion, is a sacred ritual in Christianity, in which unleavened bread pieces and wine represent the body and blood of Jesus Christ.
According to Catholic tradition, only baptized Catholics are permitted to participate in the Eucharist.
A foreign affairs veteran, who declined to be named, said that in the past when government officials visited the Vatican to attend a Catholic Church service, Taiwan’s diplomatic representative always gave reminders that non-Catholics must not partake in the Eucharist.
A secretary for Taiwan’s Catholic Bishops’ Conference confirmed that the Eucharist should be only for Catholics who have undergone baptism by an ordained priest.
“Take this case involving Vice President Wu. It may be that he joined in because others nearby in the diplomatic group were doing so, and nobody reminded Wu about the rules,” the secretary, surnamed Liao (廖), said.
“Actually, I think this case was not too serious. Unless Wu had known about the restriction and breached it on purpose, which would be very disrespectful,” he said.
A number of netizens criticized Wu over the Eucharist incident.
One person surnamed Lin (林) accused Wu of “lacking understanding of diplomatic protocols,” while another netizen wrote: “Wu has shamed himself at the Vatican.”
Another posted under the name Chou: “Wu is an ignoramus. This shows that someone with a high education may not have wisdom or common sense.”
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and