Senior delegates at the 10th Plenary Assembly of the Federation ofAsian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) have made positive remarks about thespiritual life in Vietnam.
The comments were made at ameeting between the Vietnamese Government Committee for ReligiousAffairs and FABC representatives that included Cardinal GaudencioRosales, Special Envoy of Pope Benedict XVI, and Cardinal OswaldCracias, FABC Secretary General, in Hanoi on December 10.
Arriving in Vietnam , the delegation was touched by the friendshipand openness of Vietnamese people, the two cardinals said.
Pope Benedict XVI knows of the Vietnamese Catholic community’s positivedevelopments, said Rosales and Cracias. The Pope highly appreciates thegrowing ties between Vietnam and the Vatican , as well as thesupport the Vietnamese Government offered Vatican ’s non-permanentrepresentative to the country, they added.
Addressing themeeting, Head of the Government Committee for Religious Affairs PhamDung, who is also Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, said hiscommittee is assigned the task of guiding and helping religions inVietnam operate in line with the country’s law and charters. Thecommittee is also a bridge between the State and parishioners, he added.
Catholicism, the second largest religion in Vietnam ,has made many contributions to the construction and development of thecountry, the official said.
He hoped the delegation wouldlearn more about the daily life and religious activities of Vietnameseparishioners and offer suggestions to improve his committee’s managementof religious affairs.
Dung also asked the delegation toconvey his thanks to the Pope and related ministries of Vatican ,wishing they would pay more attention to the Catholic community inVietnam .
The 10th Plenary Assembly of FABC is takingplace in the southern province of Dong Nai and Ho Chi Minh Cityfrom December 10-16. The meeting, held in Vietnam for the first time,attracted the participation of 122 cardinals, archbishops, bishops andchurch representatives from Asia, Europe, Australia and the Vatican./.VNA