Pope names bishop, creates additional diocese in Vietnam
VATICAN CITY - The Vatican said Tuesday that Pope Benedict XVI has created a new diocese in Vietnam and named its first bishop in another sign of the growing clout of the Catholic population in the country.
Benedict created the diocese of Ba Ria, in the province of the same name, by dividing up the existing diocese of Xuan Loc, the Vatican said. He named Monsignor Thomas Nguen Van Tram as bishop of Ba Ria.
While predominantly Buddhist, Vietnam has an estimated 6 million Catholics, the second-highest number in Southeast Asia after the Philippines.
Xuan Loc had nearly 1 million Catholics in 262 parishes before the division, the Vatican said.
The announcement of the new diocese came a day after Catholic Church officials in Vietnam said they planned to ordain 57 priests later this month — the largest number of clergy to be added to the communist country in a single ceremony.
Church officials said the large number was an indication of the gradual improvement of relations between Vietnam and the Holy See. The two still have no diplomatic ties, and their relations have been strained by Hanoi's insistence of having the final say in most of the church appointments, a policy the Vatican has rejected.
However, relations have improved in recent years with visits by Vatican officials and the relatively smooth appointments of Archbishop Jean-Baptiste Pham Minh Man as cardinal in Ho Chi Minh City in 2003 and Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet as archbishop of Hanoi in March.
The Associated Press - November 22, 2005.
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