Hong Kong, China - Hong Kong's new cardinal said Thursday the Vatican and Beijing are discussing forging fresh ties, which could allow Pope Benedict XVI to make a historic visit to China.
Joseph Zen, an outspoken champion of religious freedom in China, was uncertain when an agreement would be reached. China cut ties with the Vatican in 1951.
No pope has ever visited mainland China.
The Vatican's foreign minister, Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo, said Saturday the "time is ripe" for the Holy See and Beijing to establish diplomatic relations, and confirmed it is ready to move its embassy from Taiwan.
When a country shifts its formal recognition to China, Beijing usually demands that the nation's leaders and high-ranking officials avoid visiting Taiwan. Beijing insists Taiwan is part of Chinese territory and should not have diplomatic relations with other countries. The two sides split amid civil war in 1949.
But Zen said the Beijing government may allow Benedict to visit both mainland China and Taiwan because he is a religious leader, not a politician.
If the Vatican cut ties with Taiwan, it would be a huge blow to the island since the Holy See is its only diplomatic ally in Europe. The island's other partners are mostly impoverished African, Latin American and Caribbean nations.
Zen, appointed cardinal last week, said Thursday the Taiwanese would understand if the Vatican switched its diplomatic relations.
"If there is a guarantee after the normalization of relations and the Catholic church is given freedom (in China), the government and people of Taiwan would accept the decision of the holy father," Zen said.
He added: "The holy father would go to visit mainland China. Of course, I think he can also go visit Taiwan."
One of the Vatican's goals is to restart official relations with China, which forced its Roman Catholics to cut ties with the Holy See after the officially atheist Communists took power. People can worship only in government-controlled churches.
But millions of Chinese belong to unofficial congregations loyal to Rome. They say they are frequently harassed, fined and sometimes sent to labor camps by authorities.
Pope John Paul II, the most-traveled pontiff in history, was unable to visit China during his 26-year papacy. Pope Paul VI made a three-hour stopover in Hong Kong in 1970 when it was a British colony.