First Resident Papal Representative in Vietnam appointed

Archbishop Marek Zalewski has been appointed as Resident Papal Representative in Vietnam. (Photo: Vietnam Episcopal Council)

Hanoi (VNA) – Archbishop Marek Zalewski has been appointed by PopeFrancis as the first Resident Papal Representative in Vietnam, the Holy Seeannounced on December 23.

The archbishop,entering the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1995, has worked in many countries.He was appointed the Apostolic Nuncio to Singapore andthe non-resident Papal Representative in Vietnam in 2018.

While servingas the non-resident Papal Representative in Vietnam, he visitedand conducted pastoral activities in almost all dioceses of the Catholic Churchin Vietnam, and also met with representatives of ministries, sectors andadministrations of localities nationwide.

Vietnam and the Holy See have recorded progress in bilateral relations,especially since they set up the regular dialogue mechanism of their Joint WorkingGroup in 2009. Many meetings and discussions between Vietnameseleaders and the Holy See have since taken place, most recently the meeting betweenVietnamese President Vo Van Thuong and Pope Francis in 2023.

Pope BenedictXVI and Pope Francis used to send allocutions and messages to the Catholic Churchin Vietnam, stressing the spirit of living as “good Christians and goodcitizens” and encouraging Catholics to lead a good secular and religiouslife and actively contribute local and national socio-economic development.

In particular,the two sides basically agreed on the Status of the ResidentPapal Representative and the Office of the Resident Papal Representative inVietnam at the 10th session of the Joint Working Group between Vietnamand the Holy See in March 2023. This status was adopted during PresidentThuong’s visit to the Holy See in July 2023.

Themoves marked an important stride in bilateral relations and came as a result ofa process of active opinion exchanges in the spirit of mutual respect,cooperation, and understanding. They also reflect the Vietnamese State’sconsistent policy of respecting and ensuring the right to freedom of religionand belief, and creating favourable conditions for activities of religions.

The appointmentof Archbishop Marek Zalewski as the first Resident Papal Representative inVietnam is expected to help promote the connections between the Holy See andthe Catholic Church in Vietnam, as well as opinion exchanges between Vietnamand the Holy See./.

VNA