Cardinal Bertone Assures Hanoi Catholics of Popes Concern

(01 Feb 08 - RV) Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone has sent a letter to the Archbishop of Hanoi Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet expressing Pope Benedict XVI’s concern regarding recent tensions between Catholic faithful and civil authorities in the Vietnamese capital.

In the past weeks Catholics have held peaceful prayer vigils in the grounds of the one time residence of the Apostolic Nuncio which local government officials had taken over. They have been protesting plans to turn the nunciature into a nightclub, given its vicinity to their place of worship and had asked it be returned to the diocese.

In the letter, Cardinal Bertone writes that he admires the profound devotion shown by the thousands of faithful towards the local church and the Holy See as well as their gathering in peaceful prayer in front of the building which has become symbolic of their battle to ensure civil authorities recognise the rights of the Catholic community.

At the same time, the cardinal also says that continuous protests also raise concerns that the situation may slip beyond the control of protesters, as often happens in such cases, and degenerate into verbal or physical violence.

Cardinal Bertone confirms that this is why Pope Benedict, who has been constantly informed of the ongoing situation, has asked that Archbishop Ngo intervene to avoid any gestures which may undermine public order and to restore normality. Thus it will thus be possible to renew the dialogue with the authorities in a calmer atmosphere and find an appropriate solution to this delicate problem.

The Cardinal concludes by assuring the Archbishop that, as it has always done before, the Holy See will not fail to act for the legitimate aspirations of Vietnamese Catholics regarding the government.