Holy See Takes Up Issue of Church Property in Vietnam
Delegation Returns From Weeklong Trip
VATICAN CITY, JUNE 17, 2008 (Zenit.org).- The Holy See revisited the issue of Vietnam's nationalization of Church property, affirming that a solution to the situation needs to take into account the requirements of justice, charity and the common good.
This was one of the topics discussed by a Holy See delegation who visited Vietnam last week. The delegation was made up of Monsignor Pietro Parolin undersecretary for relations with states; Monsignor Luis Mariano Montemayor, nunciature-counselor at the secretariat of state; and Monsignor Barnabe Nguyen Van Phuong, bureau chief at the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.
According to a Vatican communiqué released today, the program for the June 9-15 visit "involved a series of meetings with the government authorities, both at central and local level, and with the Catholic community."
It added: "The working sessions with the government's Office for Religious Affairs, presided by Nguyen The Doanh, enabled discussions to be held, in a frank and cordial atmosphere, on various aspects of the life and activity of the Church in the country, particularly as concerns episcopal appointments, the gradual restoration of formerly-nationalized property to Church use, the application of norms on religious freedom, the contribution of Catholics to human promotion, the spread of a culture of solidarity toward the weakest sectors of the population, and the moral education of future generations."
The Holy See delegation met with Vietnam's deputy prime minister and minister for foreign affairs, Pham Gia Khiem, exchanging views on the "current international situation with reference, above all, to the seat as a non-permanent member of the U.N. Security Council that Vietnam will occupy for the first time this July."
Relations
The leaders also discussed the "hoped-for normalization of bilateral relations." The communiqué said that a working group -- entrusted with defining calendars and means -- is expected to begin work "as soon as possible."
The Holy See delegation also met with Nguyen The Thao, president of the Popular Committee of Hanoi. The communiqué affirmed that "mention was made, among other things, of the events that involved numerous faithful from the archdiocese at the end of last year and the beginning of 2008."
Around Christmas of 2007, large numbers of the faithful held peaceful protests requesting the return of Church property that had been nationalized by the state in the '50s. The main dispute involved the 2.5-acre property that used to be the headquarters of the apostolic nuncio in Vietnam.
"In this context, consideration was given -- as it has been on various other occasions -- to the importance of continuing to pacify the situation, avoiding measures that may create contrary effects, and to maintain dialogue between interested parties in the search for adequate solutions that take into account the needs of justice, of charity and of the common good," the communiqué stated. "The delegation expressed its gratitude to the local authorities of the province of Quang Tri for their decision to return the land around the Marian shrine of La Vang to Church use, and for their will to face, along with the Archdiocese of Hue, the outstanding problems for the effective implementation of the decision."
According to the communiqué: "A particularly moving moment was the visit and Mass at the Marian shrine of La Vang. The delegation, [...] along with participants from the Archdiocese of Hue, from other dioceses in Vietnam and from abroad, prayed that that place, so dear to Vietnamese Catholics and venerated even by non-Catholics, may become ever more a center of unity and reconciliation for all the inhabitants of that beloved country, without ethnic, religious or political distinction."
Delegation Returns From Weeklong Trip
VATICAN CITY, JUNE 17, 2008 (Zenit.org).- The Holy See revisited the issue of Vietnam's nationalization of Church property, affirming that a solution to the situation needs to take into account the requirements of justice, charity and the common good.
This was one of the topics discussed by a Holy See delegation who visited Vietnam last week. The delegation was made up of Monsignor Pietro Parolin undersecretary for relations with states; Monsignor Luis Mariano Montemayor, nunciature-counselor at the secretariat of state; and Monsignor Barnabe Nguyen Van Phuong, bureau chief at the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.
According to a Vatican communiqué released today, the program for the June 9-15 visit "involved a series of meetings with the government authorities, both at central and local level, and with the Catholic community."
It added: "The working sessions with the government's Office for Religious Affairs, presided by Nguyen The Doanh, enabled discussions to be held, in a frank and cordial atmosphere, on various aspects of the life and activity of the Church in the country, particularly as concerns episcopal appointments, the gradual restoration of formerly-nationalized property to Church use, the application of norms on religious freedom, the contribution of Catholics to human promotion, the spread of a culture of solidarity toward the weakest sectors of the population, and the moral education of future generations."
The Holy See delegation met with Vietnam's deputy prime minister and minister for foreign affairs, Pham Gia Khiem, exchanging views on the "current international situation with reference, above all, to the seat as a non-permanent member of the U.N. Security Council that Vietnam will occupy for the first time this July."
Relations
The leaders also discussed the "hoped-for normalization of bilateral relations." The communiqué said that a working group -- entrusted with defining calendars and means -- is expected to begin work "as soon as possible."
The Holy See delegation also met with Nguyen The Thao, president of the Popular Committee of Hanoi. The communiqué affirmed that "mention was made, among other things, of the events that involved numerous faithful from the archdiocese at the end of last year and the beginning of 2008."
Around Christmas of 2007, large numbers of the faithful held peaceful protests requesting the return of Church property that had been nationalized by the state in the '50s. The main dispute involved the 2.5-acre property that used to be the headquarters of the apostolic nuncio in Vietnam.
"In this context, consideration was given -- as it has been on various other occasions -- to the importance of continuing to pacify the situation, avoiding measures that may create contrary effects, and to maintain dialogue between interested parties in the search for adequate solutions that take into account the needs of justice, of charity and of the common good," the communiqué stated. "The delegation expressed its gratitude to the local authorities of the province of Quang Tri for their decision to return the land around the Marian shrine of La Vang to Church use, and for their will to face, along with the Archdiocese of Hue, the outstanding problems for the effective implementation of the decision."
According to the communiqué: "A particularly moving moment was the visit and Mass at the Marian shrine of La Vang. The delegation, [...] along with participants from the Archdiocese of Hue, from other dioceses in Vietnam and from abroad, prayed that that place, so dear to Vietnamese Catholics and venerated even by non-Catholics, may become ever more a center of unity and reconciliation for all the inhabitants of that beloved country, without ethnic, religious or political distinction."