Vietnam's Catholics hope for better future after PM meets pope
HO CHI MINH CITY - Vietnamese Catholics praised a milestone meeting between the communist nation's premier and Pope Benedict XVI for bringing fresh hope to the country's six million worshippers.
"I am overjoyed about this meeting," said the bishop of Ho Chi Minh City, Huynh Cong Minh, who said his congregation had prayed for a positive outcome to the high-level talks in the
Vatican Thursday.
"The greatest wish of the Vietnamese Catholic Church is the establishment of normal ties... Although it's already quite late for normalisation, I hope that it will come as soon as possible."
Vietnam, a former French colony, has Southeast Asia's largest Catholic community after the Philippines, but all religious activity remains under the control of the regime that has run unified post-war Vietnam since 1975.
The Hanoi government has distrusted Christian communities for years but started a dialogue in the 1990s with the Catholic church that led up to the meeting this week between the pontiff and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.
Both sides later said they would work toward full bilateral relations.
A Vietnamese government statement issued within hours of the Vatican meeting stressed that Vietnam's Catholic community "loves their country and have made a positive contribution toward national development."
The news was hailed by Catholic worshippers, many of whose families fled to southern Vietnam and the largest city, formerly called Saigon, after the communist and atheist government first took over North Vietnam in the 1950s.
"The common aspiration of Catholic followers is to be free to practice their religion, and for the authorities to really respect our religion," said Do Thi Lan, a 46-year-old street-side baguette vendor.
Human rights groups such as Amnesty International and religious freedom organisations regularly criticise Vietnam for repressing religious groups, including some dissident Buddhist and Protestant Christian communities.
Many state officials in Vietnam, like their comrades in neighbouring China, still regard Catholics' allegiance to the pope, and other religious activities, as potential threats to the ruling communist party's authority.
But in a gradual thaw, Vietnam has granted Catholics greater freedoms, highlighted by the ordination of 57 priests in Hanoi in November 2005, an event attended by a Vatican cardinal and thousands of followers.
Two months ago US
President George W. Bush joined a mixed Protestant-Catholic congregation in a Hanoi service, saying later that "there's no more basic freedom than the freedom to worship as you see fit."
Father Fero Nguyen Quang Toan of Ho Chi Minh City's Vuon Xoai church saw progress toward greater freedom, saying the Vatican meeting helped "improve the prestige, spirit and voice of the church's religious and social activities."
"We hope that the pope will help the Vietnamese church, especially in its support of children, women and the poor," added the priest, who had a portrait of the current Roman Catholic Church leader on his office wall.
In the capital Hanoi, Catholics also praised the meeting and expressed hope it would help end discrimination that they say was oppressive in the post-war years and continues to a lesser extent today.
"When I was small, I openly went to church with my parents, but in the post-war period it became much, much more difficult," said a 60-year-old Catholic man who asked not to be identified.
"Everybody in our neighbourhood knows my family is Catholic, but in that time we had to hide our religion from strangers as much as possible. We did not go to church often. We only prayed and read the Bible inside our house."
He said that today some state institutions still disciminate against Catholics when it comes to jobs and services.
"They don't publicly refuse us, because it's a sensitive matter... But we all sense it, and everyone knows it," he said. "These days life is much better, but we can't say we have religious freedom yet in Vietnam."
Agence France Presse - January 26, 2007.
Vietnam, Vatican closer to normalization of ties
HO CHI MINH CITY - Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung yesterday became Vietnam’s highest-ranking official to meet a pope, an encounter which could pave the way for normalizing full diplomatic ties.
PM Dung met Pope Benedict XVI in the Vatican and held talks with Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Secretary of State of the Holy See. A statement said the meetings demonstrate the goodwill and desire of Vietnam and the Vatican to boost dialogue and mutual understanding.
“The Government of Vietnam always attaches importance to ties with the Vatican,” said PM Dung. “Both sides have had annual meetings to discuss issues relating to the Church in Vietnam and other issues of mutual interest. Such meetings have brought positive results and helped boost mutual understanding between the two.”
The Vietnamese Government will continue dialogue with the Vatican based on the agreed-upon principles of mutual respect and non-intervention into their respective internal affairs, he said.
He affirmed the Communist Party and State of Vietnam always respected democracy and freedom of religion, and saw these as key elements to guarantee national solidarity.
He praised the Vietnamese Catholic community for its dynamism, fidelity to the Lord, and contributions to the country’s development.
Vietnam wants the Vatican to encourage the local Catholic community to have a strong attachment to the country and serve as a foundation for developing ties between Vietnam and the Vatican.
The Pope and the Secretary of State expressed appreciation of freedom of religion in Vietnam, saying Vietnam could be seen as a model of freedom of religion and religious belief.
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone proposed establishing full diplomatic links between the Holy See and Vietnam. And PM Dung asked diplomatic agencies of the two sides to discuss this issue in detail.
PM Dung met his Italian counterpart Romano Prodi the same day. At their talks, the two leaders discussed social and economic issues.
Dung said he wanted more Italian companies to boost business and investment in Vietnam while Prodi said Italy would need Vietnam to serve as a bridge for it to enter Southeast Asian markets.
Saigon Times Daily - January 26, 2007.
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