Pope, Vietnamese president meet

(December 12, 2009) Pope Benedict XVI on Friday received in the Vatican President Nguyen Minh Triet of Vietnam, amid hopes the Holy See and the Communist country would soon establish diplomatic ties. Triet’s 40-minute talks with the Pope was the first by the head of the southeast Asian nation to a pope. A brief statement by the Vatican Press Office said the Holy See was pleased with the visit which is a significant step in the progress towards bilateral relations between the two states. The Holy See hoped the remaining questions would be resolved as soon as possible. The Vatican statement said the cordial talks touched upon a few themes related to cooperation between the Church and State, also in view of the message that Pope Benedict sent to the Catholic Church of Vietnam on the occasion of the Jubilee Year. Vietnam’s Catholic Church on Nov. 24 inaugurated the Jubilee Year to mark the 350th anniversary of the establishment of the first two apostolic vicariates and the 50th anniversary of the Catholic hierarchy in the country. Pope Benedict and the Vietnamese president also talked about the current international situation, specially with reference to the commitment of Vietnam and the Holy See in the multilateral scenario. Vietnam’s Communist authorities closely monitor religious groups and insist on approving most church appointments. However, relations between Vietnam and the Holy See have warmed in recent years with easing of restrictions on the Catholic community and exchange of visits by top officials. Vietnam's 6 million Catholics are the second largest Catholic community in Asia after the Philippines.