Hawzah News Agency – A press release issued by the Holy See Press Office on Friday said a meeting of the Vietnam – Holy See Joint Working Group took place in Hanoi on 21-22 April 2022.

The Session was co-chaired by Monsignor Miroslaw Wachowski, Under-Secretary for the Holy See’s Relations with States, and by Ha Kim Ngoc, Vietnam’s Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs and Head of the Vietnamese delegation.

According to the Press Office statement, the delegations engaged in in-depth discussions on the relations between the States and discussed issues concerning the Catholic Church in Vietnam. It was noted that relations between Vietnam and the Holy See have recently developed and that, notwithstanding the COVID-19 containment measures, “a frequent and cordial exchange of ideas has always occurred.”

“The two parties agreed that relations between Vietnam and the Holy See should be maintained on mutually agreed-upon principles and fruitful dialogue, with the objective of consolidating reciprocal trust and strengthening relations in the common interest of the two parties and the Vietnamese Catholic community,” the statement reads.

A view to future developments

During the meeting, which took place in “a cordial and mutually respectful atmosphere”, the delegations agreed upon issues “relevant to raising, in the near future, the level of relations between Vietnam and the Holy See from a non-resident to a Resident Pontifical Representative and agreed on future steps to be undertaken to establish an office of the Resident Pontifical Representative in Hanoi.”

The parties said the 10th Joint Working Group in the Vatican at a date to be agreed.

Holy See appreciative of Church's vibrant activity in Vietnam

The statement observed that “the Holy See follows with interest the Catholic community's deep and vibrant life in the country and encourages the Catholic Church in Vietnam to contribute to the country's common good and prosperity, as the Catholic community demonstrated concretely during the pandemic's most critical periods by volunteering in hospitals and assisting the needy.”

During its time in Hanoi, the Holy See delegation also paid a courtesy call to the country’s Permanent Deputy Prime Minster, Phan Binh Minh, visited some of the other authorities, and plans to meet with members of the Vietnamese Episcopal Conference at their plenary meeting in Thai Binh in the coming days.