Senior officials from Vietnam and The Holy See are meeting in Vatican to discuss the status and mission of the resident Papal Representative in Vietnam, the Holy See’s Press Office reported.
Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc received Rev. Msgr. Antoine Camilleri, The Holy See's Under-Secretary for Relations with States in Hanoi in December 2018. Photo: VGP
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The two sides will address some aspects of ecclesial life and the future visit of Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin at the 8th Meeting of the Vietnam-Holy See Joint Working Group held in Vatican on August 21-22.
“The meeting is intended to develop and advance bilateral relations, focusing in particular on some aspects of the ecclesial life of the country as well as issues regarding the status and mission of the resident Papal Representative in Vietnam and the visit of His Eminence Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, to take place in the near future,” said director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni.
“The Vietnamese delegation will be led by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs To Anh Dung, and that of the Holy See by Rev. Msgr. Antoine Camilleri, under-secretary for Relations with States,” he said.
The seventh meeting of the joint working group took place in Hanoi in December 2018 in a cordial and mutually respectful atmosphere, triggering the possibility of a resident nuncio in Hanoi “in the near future”, FP reported.
Vietnam and The Holy See discussed and reached an agreement on relevant matters towards upgrading relations in the near future between Viet Nam and the Holy See from Non-Permanent Pontifical Representative to Permanent Pontifical Representative, the newswire reported.
With respect to the Catholic Church in Vietnam, which today represents about 7% of the population, the two sides reiterated the Pope’s message to the Catholic community in Vietnam of ‘Living the Gospel in the heart of the Nation’ and ‘A good Catholic is also a good citizen’ as important principles for the life of the Catholic community in Vietnam.
The Holy See expressed its appreciation and gratitude to the Vietnamese side for the attention that the Vietnamese authorities have accorded to the Catholic Church in Vietnam in recent years.
The Holy See pays keen attention to the rich and active Catholic life in the country and encourages the Catholic Church in Vietnam to contribute to the common good and the prosperity of Vietnam, according to the newswire.
