The Vietnamese Catholic Bishops Conference has been officially informed by the Holy See about the upcoming visit to Vietnam by its delegate on Feb 15, 2009 and asked for worldwide Catholics and concerned people to be unanimous with the Church and its delegate in praying for a fruitful outcome of the dialogue with the Vietnamese communist government.
In a letter dated Feb 13, 2009, bishop Peter Nguyen Van Nhon, President of the Conference has informed that Monsignor Pietro Parolin, the Holy See's Undersecretary of State for Relations with States said he will be coming to Vietnam in company with Msgr. Francis Cao Minh Dung, chief of Southeast Asia bureau at the State Department and Msgr. Barnabe Nguyen Van Phuong, bureau chief at the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples on this coming Sunday, Feb 15.
According to the information given by the Conference's President, the Vatican delegate plans to be attending several working sessions with representatives from Vietnamese Foreign Ministry and the Committee of Government for Religious Affairs. Also on agenda will be its meeting with the Executive Committee of the Vietnamese Catholic Bishops Conference. Last but not least will be its visits to Thai Binh and Bui Chu dioceses of North Vietnam.
In his letter, the Conference's President specifically asks for the clergy and faithful prayers and sacrifices which he believes would be "a sign of solidarity and love for the Church, from which we can perceive the desire that Jesus held as he was praying to God the Father for us 'to be in one' (Ga 17,21) " during the Vatican delegate's visit and talks being conducted in Vietnam.
Vietnam's government on the other hand had announced on Feb. 12 that meetings will be held next Monday and Tuesday to "discuss the possibility of establishing 'diplomatic relations' with the Holy See", Foreign Ministry spokesperson Le Dung was quoted as saying by the country's official news agency.
"The Government of Vietnam and (the) Vatican have agreed to convene the first meeting of (the) Vietnam-Vatican join working group," Mr Dung said, in fulfillment of "Vietnam's foreign policy of independence, sovereignty, multi-lateralization and diversification of international relations".
The Vietnamese Goverment delegation will be headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Cuong while the Vatican's delegation will be headed by Msgr. Pietro Parolin, Under-Secretary of State for Relations with States.
The announcement has followed statements made by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung after his visit to the Vatican in January 2007, which at the time seemed to indicate an improving diplomatic relation.
In June of last year Vietnam's official news agency VNA had described previous visit by a Vatican delegation to Vietnam as a "success" when the two sides agreed to set a date "as soon as possible" to convene the join working group and speed up the development of "normal diplomatic relations."
However the government's action has been such a far cry from what they described in the news.
In contrary with what Vietnam Prime Minister has promised the Vatican during his said visit in reference to returning seized properties to the Church, series of faithful and clergy mistreatment and abuse during Thai Ha and Hanoi nunciature conflicts as well as in Saigon and Vinh Long dioceses have clearly shown the Church and its followers what the Vietnam government's true intention is! Conclusion can also be drawn from a statement made public by the same Prime Minister who in 2007 promised the Vatican one thing and later turned around and defended his state's policy in denying the right to reclaim church's property.
Moreover, at a time when the country's government has shown an increasing hostility toward the religious followers, faithful and clergy alike have expressed concerns that Vietnam Foreign Ministry and the Committee for Religious Affairs would put a great pressure on the Vatican delegation for the removal of Archbishop Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet who have suffered a long period of virtual house arrest, calculated public defamation campaign by state-controlled media, not to mention public threat of violence and death aimed at him personally.
Another hot topic on the agenda would be the long delays in the appointment of bishops and diocesan administrators some dioceses. This has always been a central point on the agenda in the bilateral meetings between the Vatican and the Vietnam government. There are numerous dioceses such as Phat Diem, Ban Me Thuot still without a bishop, and there are aging bishops who would like to but cannot retire due to lack of replacement such as bishops of Vinh and Thai Binh dioceses.
With the meetings at the highest level of statemen are within reach, the Vietnamese Catholics both at home and abroad alike are watching closely with much interest. Despite all less than perfect outcome in the past from dialogues being held between the two states, many still hope that the Holy Spirit will be upon the delegate during this negotiation process so that it will not only be able to convey to the state of Vietnam its Christian/citizens legitimates aspiration on their land issue but also to reiterate the Church and its faithful's right to live in dignity and freedom to practice their religion.
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| Msgrs: Pietro Parolin, Francis Dung, Barnabe Phương just arrived in Hanoi |
According to the information given by the Conference's President, the Vatican delegate plans to be attending several working sessions with representatives from Vietnamese Foreign Ministry and the Committee of Government for Religious Affairs. Also on agenda will be its meeting with the Executive Committee of the Vietnamese Catholic Bishops Conference. Last but not least will be its visits to Thai Binh and Bui Chu dioceses of North Vietnam.
In his letter, the Conference's President specifically asks for the clergy and faithful prayers and sacrifices which he believes would be "a sign of solidarity and love for the Church, from which we can perceive the desire that Jesus held as he was praying to God the Father for us 'to be in one' (Ga 17,21) " during the Vatican delegate's visit and talks being conducted in Vietnam.
Vietnam's government on the other hand had announced on Feb. 12 that meetings will be held next Monday and Tuesday to "discuss the possibility of establishing 'diplomatic relations' with the Holy See", Foreign Ministry spokesperson Le Dung was quoted as saying by the country's official news agency.
"The Government of Vietnam and (the) Vatican have agreed to convene the first meeting of (the) Vietnam-Vatican join working group," Mr Dung said, in fulfillment of "Vietnam's foreign policy of independence, sovereignty, multi-lateralization and diversification of international relations".
The Vietnamese Goverment delegation will be headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Cuong while the Vatican's delegation will be headed by Msgr. Pietro Parolin, Under-Secretary of State for Relations with States.
The announcement has followed statements made by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung after his visit to the Vatican in January 2007, which at the time seemed to indicate an improving diplomatic relation.
In June of last year Vietnam's official news agency VNA had described previous visit by a Vatican delegation to Vietnam as a "success" when the two sides agreed to set a date "as soon as possible" to convene the join working group and speed up the development of "normal diplomatic relations."
However the government's action has been such a far cry from what they described in the news.
In contrary with what Vietnam Prime Minister has promised the Vatican during his said visit in reference to returning seized properties to the Church, series of faithful and clergy mistreatment and abuse during Thai Ha and Hanoi nunciature conflicts as well as in Saigon and Vinh Long dioceses have clearly shown the Church and its followers what the Vietnam government's true intention is! Conclusion can also be drawn from a statement made public by the same Prime Minister who in 2007 promised the Vatican one thing and later turned around and defended his state's policy in denying the right to reclaim church's property.
Moreover, at a time when the country's government has shown an increasing hostility toward the religious followers, faithful and clergy alike have expressed concerns that Vietnam Foreign Ministry and the Committee for Religious Affairs would put a great pressure on the Vatican delegation for the removal of Archbishop Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet who have suffered a long period of virtual house arrest, calculated public defamation campaign by state-controlled media, not to mention public threat of violence and death aimed at him personally.
Another hot topic on the agenda would be the long delays in the appointment of bishops and diocesan administrators some dioceses. This has always been a central point on the agenda in the bilateral meetings between the Vatican and the Vietnam government. There are numerous dioceses such as Phat Diem, Ban Me Thuot still without a bishop, and there are aging bishops who would like to but cannot retire due to lack of replacement such as bishops of Vinh and Thai Binh dioceses.
With the meetings at the highest level of statemen are within reach, the Vietnamese Catholics both at home and abroad alike are watching closely with much interest. Despite all less than perfect outcome in the past from dialogues being held between the two states, many still hope that the Holy Spirit will be upon the delegate during this negotiation process so that it will not only be able to convey to the state of Vietnam its Christian/citizens legitimates aspiration on their land issue but also to reiterate the Church and its faithful's right to live in dignity and freedom to practice their religion.