President Vo Van Thuong visits the Vatican and meets Pope Francis

On the afternoon of July 27, at the invitation of Pope Francis,President Vo Van Thuong and his wife, along with a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation, visited the Vatican.

Chủ tịch nước Võ Văn Thưởng thăm Tòa thánh Vatican và hội kiến Giáo hoàng Francis

President meets Pope Francis. (Photo: Vatican Media)

At the meeting with Pope Francis, President Vo Van Thuong expressed his joy at visiting the Vatican and thanked the Pope and the Holy See for their warm welcome to the delegation. President Vo Van Thuong expressed his utmost appreciation for the Pope's concern and affection for the Vietnamese people's struggle for independence in the past and for Vietnam today, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.

President Vo Van Thuong highly appreciated the positive developments in the Vietnam-Holy See relationship through the two sides maintaining high-level contacts in recent years and effectively implementing the Vietnam-Vatican Joint Working Group mechanism. President Vo Van Thuong affirmed that the Party and State of Vietnam consistently implement the policy of respecting and ensuring freedom of belief and religion and constantly improving the legal framework to facilitate religious activities, including Catholicism. The President welcomed the positive contributions of the Vietnamese Catholic community in charitable activities,education , health care, and vocational training, and hoped that Vietnamese Catholics would continue to contribute to the country's construction and development.

The President and his wife with Pope Francis. (Photo: Vatican Media)

Pope Francis welcomed the visit of President Vo Van Thuong, affirming that the visit of President Vo Van Thuong is an opportunity for the two sides to discuss the situation of Catholicism in Vietnam and the Vietnam-Holy See relationship. Pope Francis recalled the good memories of welcoming high-ranking Vietnamese leaders in the past, sharing the Pope's affection for the country, people and special concern for the Vietnamese Catholic community.

President Vo Van Thuong highly appreciated and respected the instructions and teachings of the Pope and the Holy See to the Vietnamese Catholic community; he hoped that the Pope would continue to pay attention to instructing Vietnamese Catholic dignitaries and followers to continue to follow the direction of attachment and companionship with the State and people, for the development and prosperity of the country.

The President emphasized the role of the Holy See in global issues, maintaining peace , sustainable development, the environment, and ensuring human rights.

Pope Francis affirmed that the Holy See wishes for the Holy See-Vietnam relationship to develop better and better; emphasized that the Catholic Church in Vietnam needs to continue to better implement the guidelines of "accompanying the nation" and "good parishioners are good citizens", while encouraging Catholic parishioners and dignitaries in Vietnam to actively contribute to the development of the country and the Church.

Pope Francis takes a photo with the President and his wife and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation. (Photo: Vatican Media)

President Vo Van Thuong and Pope Francis assessed that the adoption of the Statutes of the Permanent Representative and the Office of the Permanent Representative of the Holy See in Vietnam is an important step forward in the context of positive development of bilateral relations, and is the result of exchanges in the spirit of respect, cooperation and mutual understanding. Both sides believe that the Permanent Representative will make positive contributions to the relationship between the Holy See and the Vietnamese Catholic community as well as to the Vietnam-Holy See relationship.

President Vo Van Thuong affirmed that Vietnam will facilitate the activities of the permanent representative, in accordance with Vietnamese laws, regulations and bilateral agreements; expressed the wish that the Catholic Church in Vietnam will develop further and contribute more actively to the common development of the country. Pope Francis emphasized that the adoption of the Regulations on the activities of the Permanent Representative and the Office of the Permanent Representative of the Holy See in Vietnam is a model of mutual trust and a basis for promoting and expanding relations further in the future.

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