Vatican envoy pursues formal ties, papal visit to Vietnam

The Holy See and Vietnam have renewed long-stalled negotiations towards the reestablishment of diplomatic relations. During the February 16th and 17th meetings requested by the Vietnamese government, Vice Minister Nguyen Quoc Cuong encouraged the involvement of the Church in the life of the country's faithful. Cuong also claimed that the Southeast Asian country upholds policies that respect the freedom of religion.Msgr. Pietro Parolin, under-secretary for Relations with States, stressed that the Vatican recognizes the communist nation's sovereignty. He also reiterated that the Church instructs all Catholics to work for the common good of society. Both parties agreed to another round of talks in the future.Msgr. Parolin also expressed hope that Pope Benedict XVI could visit Vietnam, possibly as soon as this year. The Vietnamese government previously rejected requests for a papal visit. Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung met the Pope at the Vatican in early 2007.Vietnam is predominantly Buddhist, but with more than 6 million Catholics, the nation boasts the second largest Catholic community in Asia.While the two countries have met nearly 20 times in the past two decades, the Holy See and Vietnam have not enjoyed normalized relations since the 1950s. Other Asian countries with whom the Vatican lacks diplomatic ties are China, Laos, North Korea, Myanmar and Malaysia.

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• Vietnam
• diplomacy
• communism