Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ha Kim Ngoc (R) welcomes Monsignor Mirosław Stanisław Wachowski, Undersecretary for the Holy See’s Relations with States, in Hanoi on April 22. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh on April 22received Monsignor Mirosław Stanisław Wachowski,Undersecretary for the Holy See’sRelations with States, who is on a visit to Vietnam to co-chair the 9th round meeting of the two sides’ joint working group.
Expressing his delight at the strides in the Vietnam -Vatican relations, Deputy PM Minh said mutual visits by senior leaders andmeetings of the joint working group will help tighten bilateral links and meet commoninterests of both sides, as well as the interests of the Catholic community inVietnam.
He asked the Holy See to continue guiding the Catholiccommunity to stay side by side with the nation and adhere to laws, therebyhelping promote the good image of Catholism in Vietnam and step up bilateralties.
Undersecretary StanisławWachowski affirmed that Pope Francis and the Holy See always hope bilateralrelations will continue developing, thus creating conditions for Vietnam’sCatholic community to actively contribute to national development.
He agreed on the measures for bolstering bilateralconnections in the time ahead, especially increasing meetings and maintainingthe existing consultation mechanisms.
On this occasion, Deputy PM Minh conveyed PM Pham MinhChinh’s invitation to visit Vietnam to the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
Also on April 22, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of ForeignAffairs Ha Kim Ngoc and UndersecretaryStanisław Wachowski co-chaired the 9th round meeting of the jointworking group.
Ngoc provided brief information about the localsocio-economic situation, particularly the COVID-19 pandemic put under control,the macro-economic kept stable, and living conditions of people, includingCatholics, ensured.
On behalf of the Vietnamese Government, he appreciated PopeFrancis’s decision to give 100,000 EUR (108,000 USD) in aid to the Catholiccommunity in Vietnam in August last year, when the country faced complex developmentsof the pandemic. He also highly valued the Vietnamese Catholic Church’sdonation to the COVID-19 vaccine fund, as well as Catholic priests, monks, andfollowers’ engagement in the frontline forces against the pandemic.
Deputy Foreign Minister Ngoc emphasised Vietnam’s consistentpolicy of respecting and ensuring people’s freedom of religion or belief, andthat all-level authorities in Vietnam have always paid attention to theCatholic Church’s demand and created conditions for the Catholic community to practiseand develop.
The Vatican Undersecretary thanked the Vietnamese Governmentfor its attention to and favourable conditions for the religious practice andevents of the Vietnamese Catholic Church.
He also conveyed Pope Francis’s best wishes to the CatholicChurch in Vietnam and repeated the Pope’s teaching to Catholic followers thatis “living the Gospel amidst the nation” and “a good parishioner must be a goodcitizen”.
At the meeting, the two sides shared the view that theVietnam - Vatican relations are growing well, applauding the effective andflexible maintenance of exchange mechanisms, particularly amid the COVID-19pandemic, along with the role of the Holy See’s non-resident special envoy toVietnam so as to help enhance mutual understanding and foster bilateralcooperation.
They also discussed issues related to the draft regulationson activities of the Holy See’s resident special envoy and the resident specialenvoy’s office in Vietnam, in line with the roadmap for elevating the Vietnam -Vatican relations. They agreed to continue maintaining exchanges and contactsat all level to promote bilateral ties on the basis of cooperation, dialogue,and mutual respect./.
