Hanoi, Vietnam, May 27, 2008 / 21:30 pm
In a year featuring unprecedented Catholic demonstrations targeting the Vietnamese government, a delegation from the Vatican will meet with the Vietnamese government to discuss controversies surrounding confiscated church properties and the appointment of bishops.
Vietnam has not had diplomatic relations with the Vatican since its communist government took power in 1975. The Holy See has persistently sought official dialogue with Vietnamese authorities, which has helped improve the situation of the Church in the nation. A Vatican delegation visits Vietnam almost every year.
VietCath News Agency reports that the Vatican delegation will visit Our Lady of La Vang Shrine, the main Catholic shrine in Vietnam. The local government has promised to return to the shrine’s basilica about 52 of the more than 57 acres in property that it confiscated in 1975.
Monsignor Barnabe Nguyen Van Phuong, chief of Asian affairs of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, explained that the appointment of bishops remains a delicate issue. The officially atheist Communist government refuses to give up its control over appointments. The long delays in episcopal and diocesan administrator appointments caused by the government’s foot dragging have hampered the normal activities of the Church, he explained.