Consistently implementing the foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, cooperation and development; diversification, multilateralization, being a friend and reliable partner of countries around the world and a responsible member of the international community of the Communist Party of Vietnam , in that spirit, Vietnam attaches importance to and is ready to promote relations with the Vatican on the principle of respecting independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, non-interference in each other's internal affairs, actively contributing to peace, cooperation and development in the world.

The following article briefly introduces the progress of Vietnam - Vatican relations:

Progress of Vietnam - Vatican relations

On September 2, 1945, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was born, becoming the first people's democratic state in Southeast Asia. Vietnam is an independent, sovereign country, recognized by many countries in the world and established diplomatic relations. Very quickly after that, Vietnam became a member of many international organizations.

In the process of building and developing the country, the Vietnamese State has always respected the people's freedom of belief and religion, including the Catholic Church and the relationship between the Catholic Church and the Vatican, as stated in Decree 234/SL dated June 14, 1955 ofthe President : "Regarding Catholicism, the religious relationship between the Vietnamese Church and the Holy See is an internal matter of Catholicism."

Although there was no State relationship, during our people's just resistance war against the US to save the country, the Vatican had contact with the Provisional Revolutionary Government of South Vietnam and the Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.

On February 14, 1973, Pope Paul VI officially received Foreign Minister Xuan Thuy. During the reception, Pope Paul VI praised the national reconciliation and harmony program of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of South Vietnam.

After the victory on April 30, 1975, Vietnam was completely unified and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam was completely independent. Also during this time, the Apostolic Nuncio left Vietnam.

There is no official relationship between the Vietnamese Government and the Vatican. The Vietnamese State still allows the Catholic Church of Vietnam to have religious relations with the Vatican according to a general principle, both respecting the freedom and beliefs of citizens, respecting the relationships of the Church, and demonstrating the determination to protect Vietnam's independence and sovereignty.

Entering the period of renovation, with the foreign policy of expanding international exchanges and cooperation of our Party and State, in July 1989, with the consent of the Vietnamese Government, for the first time, a delegation of the Vatican visited Vietnam. The delegation, led by Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, had a meeting with the Government's Committee for Religious Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and visited a number of dioceses of the Catholic Church in Vietnam.

From November 1990 to 2008, Vietnam and the Vatican had 17 meetings (2 times in the Vatican in 1992 and 2005 and 15 times in Vietnam). During this period, the Government Committee for Religious Affairs was the agency in charge of receiving and working with the Vatican representative led by the Vatican Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, with the participation of officials from the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

The main content of the meetings is to exchange and discuss issues related to the Catholic Church in Vietnam and issues of mutual concern.

At previous meetings and the 2007 meeting in Vietnam led by Monsignor Pietro Parolin, Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs of the Holy See, the Holy See delegation proposed a meeting to discuss establishing bilateral relations.

Vietnam - Vatican relations negotiation meetings

Based on the proposal of the Vatican, in 2008, the Vietnamese Government agreed to the policy of jointly establishing a Vietnam - Vatican Joint Working Group to discuss the establishment of bilateral relations.

The Prime Minister assigned the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to coordinate with the Ministry of Public Security, the Government Office and the Government Committee for Religious Affairs to establish a Joint Working Group. To date, the Joint Working Group has gone through 11 rounds of negotiations and achieved certain results.

At the meetings, Vietnam affirmed the Party and State of Vietnam's policy of respecting freedom of belief and religion, and the attention and facilitation of authorities at all levels for the activities of Vietnamese Catholics.

The two sides discussed a number of issues related to the activities of Vietnamese Catholics, the progress of relations between Vietnam and the Vatican, the appointment of a non-resident Special Envoy and the upgrade from a non-resident Special Envoy to a permanent Special Envoy...

In 2011, the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam accepted the proposal of the Holy See to appoint a non-resident Special Envoy of the Vatican to Vietnam with specific provisions such as the Special Envoy promoting relations between the Holy See and the Government of Vietnam as well as between the Holy See and the Catholic Church of Vietnam.

On January 13, 2011, the Vatican appointed Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli, Apostolic Nuncio to Singapore, and Non-Resident Special Envoy of the Holy See to Vietnam. On September 13, 2017, Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli was further appointed by the Holy See as Apostolic Nuncio to Israel, and Apostolic Delegate to Jerusalem and Palestine.

From 2011 to 2017, Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli made 109 visits and pastoral activities in Vietnam. He visited 63 provinces and cities, 26 dioceses, many parishes, religious orders, major seminaries, etc.

In August 2018, the Vatican appointed Archbishop Marek Zalewski, Apostolic Nuncio to Zimbabwe, as the Holy See's Non-Resident Special Envoy to Vietnam, replacing Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli.

At the 10th meeting of the Vietnam - Vatican Joint Working Group in April 2023 at the Vatican, the two sides basically agreed on the content of the operating regulations of the resident representative and the resident representative office. It specifically stipulates the tasks of the resident representative, the appointment, nomination, and approval of the resident representative and members of the resident representative office; the activities of the resident representative, official members and the office; the rights and interests of the resident representative office and its members; the terms of implementation and dispute resolution.

The two sides officially upgraded relations to the Permanent Representative of the Holy See in Vietnam from July 2023.

In January 2024, the Vietnamese Government officially agreed to allow the Vatican to appoint a Resident Representative and establish a Resident Representative Office in Hanoi.

The upgrading of relations demonstrates the efforts, goodwill, respect for each other's institutional differences and the common goal of peace, development, and prosperity of each country in the region and contributes to world peace and development.

Pope Francis promotes Vietnam – Vatican relations

During his reign, Pope Francis has received many high-ranking leaders of Vietnam, such as the Chairman of the National Assembly (March 2014), the Prime Minister (October 2014), the President (2016) and a number of other high-ranking leaders of Vietnam.

Pope Francis clearly expressed his affection and concern for the country and people of Vietnam: “ The Vietnamese people have always been in my heart. Since my youth, in Buenos Aires, I have always followed the heroic, indomitable struggle and the many sacrifices and hardships of the Vietnamese people. I admire the greatness of the Vietnamese people and Vietnam has been in my heart ever since. The Catholic Church wants to accompany the Vietnamese government and people to develop the country, to build a prosperous, free and happy life. The Church in Vietnam accompanies the country and the Vietnamese people on the path of development, contributing to the common work of the country. I always hope that the relationship between the Holy See and the State of Vietnam will continue to develop well .”

Vatican
Head of the Central External Relations Commission meets Pope Francis in January 2024

The meeting between the Vietnamese leaders and Pope Francis on July 27, 2023, marked a turning point in the bilateral relationship, approving the Regulations on the operation of the Permanent Representative and the Office of the Permanent Representative of the Holy See in Vietnam, an important step forward in the context of positive development of bilateral relations, the result of exchanges in the spirit of respect, cooperation and mutual understanding. The two 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 the Vietnam - Holy See relationship.

On September 8, 2023, 10 years after his coronation, Pope Francis sent a letter to the Catholic Church in Vietnam.

The Pope hopes that Vietnam - Vatican relations will continue to develop on the basis of recognizing similarities and respecting differences between the two sides.

The Pope instructed dignitaries and lay people on their responsibilities as good citizens and good Catholics, continuing the direction of the 1980 General Letter of the Vietnamese Bishops' Council, contributing to the development of the country.

The Pope encouraged Vietnamese Catholics to continue the tradition of commitment to practicing charity, demonstrating charity through a life of witness in the heart of the nation and in the heart of society; encouraged the contributions of Vietnamese Catholics during the Covid-19 pandemic, sharing with the sick and the poor, sharing responsibility with authorities at all levels; commended the Episcopal Council and the Catholic Church of Vietnam for " participating in contributing to the common good in all areas of social life in their country ".

With the guidance of Pope Francis and the direction of activities "living the gospel in the heart of the nation to serve the happiness of compatriots", Vietnamese dignitaries, monks and nuns, and Catholics always accompany the authorities at all levels, actively participate in patriotic emulation movements, local production labor, contributing to the socio-economic development of the country.

The Vietnamese Catholic community actively participates in medical, educational, charitable, humanitarian activities, sharing, and helping people in difficulty, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.

This is the beautiful image of the Catholic Church in Vietnam in the hearts of the nation and the community; it is an important basis to promote the Vietnam - Vatican relationship from Non-Resident Special Envoy to Permanent Representative, so that the Vietnamese leaders can invite Pope Francis to visit Vietnam.

Pope Francis expressed his deep affection for Vietnam and welcomed high-ranking Vietnamese leaders with great respect.

Through contacts and exchanges with the Pope at the Vatican and the Holy See delegations visiting and operating in Vietnam, the Holy See delegations all felt the sincerity, goodwill, favorable conditions, and thoughtful reception of the Vietnamese Government, central agencies, and authorities at all levels; felt the free and vibrant religious life of Vietnamese Catholics and the affection that Vietnamese Catholic dignitaries and followers had for the delegation.

At the same time, the Vatican also through this understood more about the Catholic Church in Vietnam and about the country, people, history, culture, customs and practices of Vietnam, and witnessed Vietnam's socio-economic achievements.

It can be said that through contacts and exchanges, Vietnam and the Holy See understand each other better and see the need to respect the principles between the two sides.

Dialogues are the most appropriate method, contributing to creating a friendly atmosphere to better understand each other and to jointly solve issues of mutual concern, including upgrading bilateral relations.

Dr. Dao Thi Duom

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/vai-tro-cua-giao-hoang-francis-trong-thuc-day-quan-he-viet-nam-vatican-2395510.html