承認中國任命七位主教
Premier William Lai rejected rumors that a recent deal between China and the Catholic Church could cause Vatican City to sever ties with Taiwan.
行政院長賴清德否認中國和教廷最近達成的協議可能會導致梵蒂岡與台灣斷交的傳言。
reject(v.)拒絕接受;駁回rumor(n.)謠言;傳言sever ties with~與…斷交=break or cut ties with~
Speaking during an interview at the Legislative Yuan, the premier assured reporters that the government had control of the situation, adding that Taiwan would maintain relations with the Holy See “by any means necessary.”
賴清德在立法院接受採訪時向記者們保證，政府已掌握情況，並表示台灣將「以任何必要的方式」與羅馬教廷保持關係。
the Legislative Yuan立法院assure sb. that…向…保證;使…放心the Holy See羅馬天主教廷
Doubts about the future of Taiwan’s only European ally have been circulating since last week, when Beijing signed a historic agreement with the Vatican on the way new bishops are chosen in China.
自從上周北京與梵蒂岡就任命中國新主教的方式簽署了歷史性協議以來，就一直流傳著梵蒂岡可能與台灣斷交的謠言。
doubt(n.)懷疑;疑慮ally(n.)盟友;盟國;友邦circulate(v.)(消息)流傳;散佈=spread
This had been a barrier to relations between the two states since 1949, with China insisting that all bishops be appointed by the state and the Vatican arguing that the responsibility should be the church’s alone.
自1949年以來，主教任命的問題一直是中國與梵蒂岡關係的阻礙，中國堅持所有主教應由中國政府任命，而梵蒂岡則認為應該是教廷自己的責任。
barrier(n.)障礙、阻礙、隔閡stumbling block絆腳石insist that sb. (should) RV 堅持某人應該…appoint(v.)任命、委任
Now, the Vatican has agreed to recognize the seven bishops appointed by Beijing without the approval of the Holy See, which is seen as a step towards bettering their relations.
現在，梵蒂岡同意承認北京未經教廷批准任命的七位主教，被視為改善兩方關係重要的一步。
approval(n.)批准、核准、認可
This has come as alarming news to Taiwan, where freedom of religion has been a cornerstone of relations with the Holy See for over 76 years.
這對台灣來說是一個令人憂慮的消息，在台灣宗教自由是與教廷超過76年外交關係的基石。
alarming(adj.)引起恐慌的、令人擔憂的=worrying=disturbingcornerstone(n.)基石;基礎;根本
In May, seven Taiwanese bishops visited Rome, where they urged the Pope to protect Taiwan and said that Taiwan’s Catholic community would be very disappointed by the breaking of diplomatic relations.
五月時，七位台灣主教訪問羅馬，呼籲教宗保護台灣，並表示若梵蒂岡與台斷交，台灣的天主教教徒們會感到非常失望。
urge sb. to RV 呼籲某人做某事=call on sb. to RVdiplomatic relations外交關係
The pontiff was also invited to visit Taiwan in 2019, but the new agreement with China has made this unlikely.
教宗也被邀請在2019年訪問台灣，但教廷才剛與中國締結協議，這趟訪問不太可能成行。
pontiff(n.)(正式)教宗=pope
John Sullivan, a China-Taiwan expert from the University of Nottingham, says that despite warming relations between Beijing and the Vatican, a sudden change of alignment is unlikely.
諾丁漢大學中國與台灣關係專家沙利文表示，儘管北京與梵蒂岡關係暖化，但梵蒂岡突然與中國建交的可能性不大。
despite(prep.)儘管=in spite of~alignment(n.)結盟、聯盟、聯合=alliance
He said, “It will indeed take a long while. However, this has been made slightly more possible after the agreement with China.”
他說：「這確實需要很長時間，然而，梵蒂岡與中國達成協議後，可能性稍微提高了些。」
slightly(adv.)稍微;略為=a little