On Wednesday Pope Francis met Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang at the Vatican for a meeting largely focused on collaboration between the
Church and State, as well as how to move forward in cementing better
relations.

In the course of the cordial talks, specific mention was made of the
good relations existing between the Holy See and Vietnam, which are
supported by a common spirit of dialogue and of the constant search for
the most appropriate tools so they can further advance, a Nov. 23
communique from the Vatican read.

Collaboration between the Church and the State in various levels of
local society was also emphasized.

President Dai Quang arrived to the Vatican around 5p.m. local time, and
was accompanied by a delegation of 10 people.

After their private discussion, Dai Quang gifted the Pope a small drum
with a bronze base, while Francis, for his part, gave the Vietnamese
president a medal of his pontificate as well as a copy of his
environmental encyclical Laudato Si, his Apostolic Exhortations Amoris
Laetitia and Evangelii Gaudium.

Following his meeting with the Pope, President Dai Quang met briefly
with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and the Vaticans Secretary for Relations with the States, Archbishop Paul Gallagher.

While the Vietnamese presidents visit to the Vatican is significant, it
is not the first time a head of state has made such a gesture. In 2009,
former president Nguyen Minh Triet traveled to the Vatican to meet with
Pope Benedict XVI, marking the first such visit by a Vietnamese head of
state to the Vatican.

Vietnam is currently one of 15 States in which the Holy See does not yet
have full diplomatic relations.

Diplomatic relations between the two states were dissolved in 1975 when
the communist north overran South Vietnam. However, since then, the
visits of more than 20 Vatican delegations eventually led to the 2007
visit of Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to Benedict XVI.

After the 2007 meeting, the Holy See and Vietnam began talks to
re-establish diplomatic ties, and to this end a joint working group was established in 2009. In 2008, after decades, the Holy See was finally
able to appoint seven new bishops in Vietnam, and the bishops ordained
hundreds of priests.

Talks eventually led to the appointment of Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli
as non-resident special envoy to Vietnam in 2011. A year later, Nguyen
Phu Trong, secretary of the Vietnamese communist party, visited
Benedict, showing the desire on the part of Vietnamese authorities to
normalize diplomatic ties.

The sixth and most recent meeting of the working group took place Oct.
24-26 at the Vatican, where talks centered on the recent reform of the religious freedom bill in Vietnam, which has been under discussion since
2013, when the Vietnamese constitution was revised.

The law guaranteed freedom of belief to people, and formally guarantees religious freedom. However, Catholic communities have experienced
several limitations under the communist regime that took power in 1976.

In the October working group meeting, Vietnams representatives
underscored the efforts made to improve a religious freedom bill, while
the Holy See showed appreciation for these efforts and reiterated the
Churchs freedom to carry forward its mission.

With 6 million adherents to the faith nearly 7 percent of its entire population the Church has a notable impact on Vietnamese society, a
fact acknowledged by the government's desire to dialogue with the Holy
See.On Wednesday Pope Francis met Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang at
the Vatican for a meeting largely focused on collaboration between the
Church and State, as well as how to move forward in cementing better
relations.

In the course of the cordial talks, specific mention was made of the
good relations existing between the Holy See and Vietnam, which are
supported by a common spirit of dialogue and of the constant search for
the most appropriate tools so they can further advance, a Nov. 23
communique from the Vatican read.

Collaboration between the Church and the State in various levels of
local society was also emphasized.

President Dai Quang arrived to the Vatican around 5p.m. local time, and
was accompanied by a delegation of 10 people.

After their private discussion, Dai Quang gifted the Pope a small drum
with a bronze base, while Francis, for his part, gave the Vietnamese
president a medal of his pontificate as well as a copy of his
environmental encyclical Laudato Si, his Apostolic Exhortations Amoris
Laetitia and Evangelii Gaudium.

Following his meeting with the Pope, President Dai Quang met briefly
with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and the Vaticans Secretary for Relations with the States, Archbishop Paul Gallagher.

While the Vietnamese presidents visit to the Vatican is significant, it
is not the first time a head of state has made such a gesture. In 2009,
former president Nguyen Minh Triet traveled to the Vatican to meet with
Pope Benedict XVI, marking the first such visit by a Vietnamese head of
state to the Vatican.

Vietnam is currently one of 15 States in which the Holy See does not yet
have full diplomatic relations.

Diplomatic relations between the two states were dissolved in 1975 when
the communist north overran South Vietnam. However, since then, the
visits of more than 20 Vatican delegations eventually led to the 2007
visit of Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to Benedict XVI.

After the 2007 meeting, the Holy See and Vietnam began talks to
re-establish diplomatic ties, and to this end a joint working group was established in 2009. In 2008, after decades, the Holy See was finally
able to appoint seven new bishops in Vietnam, and the bishops ordained
hundreds of priests.

Talks eventually led to the appointment of Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli
as non-resident special envoy to Vietnam in 2011. A year later, Nguyen
Phu Trong, secretary of the Vietnamese communist party, visited
Benedict, showing the desire on the part of Vietnamese authorities to
normalize diplomatic ties.

The sixth and most recent meeting of the working group took place Oct.
24-26 at the Vatican, where talks centered on the recent reform of the religious freedom bill in Vietnam, which has been under discussion since
2013, when the Vietnamese constitution was revised.

The law guaranteed freedom of belief to people, and formally guarantees religious freedom. However, Catholic communities have experienced
several limitations under the communist regime that took power in 1976.

In the October working group meeting, Vietnams representatives
underscored the efforts made to improve a religious freedom bill, while
the Holy See showed appreciation for these efforts and reiterated the
Churchs freedom to carry forward its mission.

With 6 million adherents to the faith nearly 7 percent of its entire population the Church has a notable impact on Vietnamese society, a
fact acknowledged by the government's desire to dialogue with the Holy
See.







--- Platinum Xpress/Win/WINServer v3.0pr5
# Origin: LiveWire BBS -=* Louisville, KY *=- LiveWireBBS.com (1:2320/100)
* Origin: LiveWire BBS - Synchronet - LiveWireBBS.com (1:2320/100)