Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - “I hope that President Nguyen Minh Triet, who will be in Italy in December, will meet the Holy Father." This is what Agenzia Fides was told be Cardinal Jean Baptiste Pham Minh Man, Archbishop of Ho Chi Minh City, recalling that the Holy See has long declared its readiness to normalize relations with Vietnam.
The Vietnamese President's meeting with the Pope would indeed be a historic event that would demonstrate the desires of the Vietnamese government: after the visit of Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, which occurred at the Vatican in 2007 and marked a certain improvement in bilateral relations – this would be the first time a Vietnamese President visits the Vatican since 1975, when the country was reunited under the Socialist Republic.
The meeting could provide a breakthrough in the process of establishment of diplomatic relations: "It would be a sign of great hope for our Church," says a Fides source from the Church in Vietnam, remembering that the Catholic faithful in Vietnam "fervently hoped that Pope Benedict XVI would soon come to visit the country." Bishop Pierre Nguyen Van Nhon of Dalat, President of the Bishops' Conference, has reiterated the invitation made to Benedict XVI in the ad Limina visit of the Vietnamese Bishops last June. On that occasion, some government officials of the Office for Religious Affairs said they were favorable - though not on an official level – to a papal trip to Vietnam.
There are, therefore, some positive signs, says Fides sources, although the difficulties for the Church in Vietnam remain. Many believe and hope that the process of rapprochement will accelerate, if the Pope meets with the Vietnamese President.
The fundamental parts needed for sowing diplomatic relations are: freedom of religion, the appointment of Bishops, the ordination of priests, the construction of places of worship, the regulation of church property, and evangelization. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 21/11/2009)
