HANOI (Reuters) - A Vatican envoy holding talks with Vietnamese officials on the eventual establishment of diplomatic ties said on Thursday that he hoped the Pope would be able to visit the country this year.
A Vietnamese Foreign Ministry official however said no formal proposal for such a visit had been received.
Hanoi and the Vatican have not had formal relations since the 1950s although Vietnam is home to more than 6 million Catholics, making it one of the biggest communities of faithful in Asia.
The two sides have held 18 meetings in the past two decades, but this week's talks represented the first meeting of a joint working group on normalisation.
"This is my wish," Vatican Undersecretary of State Monsignor Pietro Parolin told reporters when asked if he thought the Pope could visit the Southeast Asian country this year.
"But of course it depends on many things to be discussed, to be reflected upon, and I think that it's impossible to say yes or no." He added that the question had not been discussed in meetings with the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry and the government's religious affairs committee.
Hanoi has rejected previous requests for a papal visit to the country where religion remains under state supervision. Vietnam's 86 million population is mostly Buddhist.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Dung said the government had not received any proposal from the Vatican for a papal visit.
"Our main objective at present is to carry on the meeting of the joint working group in order to establish diplomatic relations," he told a news conference.
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung met the Pope at the Vatican in early 2007, raising hopes for detente and the establishment of diplomatic relations soon. But the dialogue has moved slowly.
"We have had a very fruitful discussion and we are happy about that," Parolin said. "It was the first meeting, but we have already set up a good basis for further progress."
Dung, the Foreign Ministry spokesman, said the two sides needed further contact "to identify the framework and principles of relations".
"I would like to underscore that the establishment of relations between Vietnam and the Vatican is a process," he said.
The two sides agreed to hold another round of talks, but no date or time was set.
In addition to Vietnam, elsewhere in Asia the Vatican does not have relations with China, Laos, North Korea, Myanmar and Malaysia.
A Vietnamese Foreign Ministry official however said no formal proposal for such a visit had been received.
Hanoi and the Vatican have not had formal relations since the 1950s although Vietnam is home to more than 6 million Catholics, making it one of the biggest communities of faithful in Asia.
The two sides have held 18 meetings in the past two decades, but this week's talks represented the first meeting of a joint working group on normalisation.
"This is my wish," Vatican Undersecretary of State Monsignor Pietro Parolin told reporters when asked if he thought the Pope could visit the Southeast Asian country this year.
"But of course it depends on many things to be discussed, to be reflected upon, and I think that it's impossible to say yes or no." He added that the question had not been discussed in meetings with the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry and the government's religious affairs committee.
Hanoi has rejected previous requests for a papal visit to the country where religion remains under state supervision. Vietnam's 86 million population is mostly Buddhist.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Dung said the government had not received any proposal from the Vatican for a papal visit.
"Our main objective at present is to carry on the meeting of the joint working group in order to establish diplomatic relations," he told a news conference.
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung met the Pope at the Vatican in early 2007, raising hopes for detente and the establishment of diplomatic relations soon. But the dialogue has moved slowly.
"We have had a very fruitful discussion and we are happy about that," Parolin said. "It was the first meeting, but we have already set up a good basis for further progress."
Dung, the Foreign Ministry spokesman, said the two sides needed further contact "to identify the framework and principles of relations".
"I would like to underscore that the establishment of relations between Vietnam and the Vatican is a process," he said.
The two sides agreed to hold another round of talks, but no date or time was set.
In addition to Vietnam, elsewhere in Asia the Vatican does not have relations with China, Laos, North Korea, Myanmar and Malaysia.