Pope Francis met with a delegation of the Communist Party of Vietnam.
During the meeting, the representatives and Pope exchanged gifts. Following this, the delegation met with Msgr. Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States, and Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
Diplomatic efforts between the Holy See and the communist country have advanced in the past year. Vietnam recognized a papal delegate in July 2023, an important step forward announced in a joint statement.
Two months later, on his return from his trip to Mongolia, Pope Francis expressed his support for this development.
POPE FRANCIS
Vietnam is one of the very beautiful dialogue experiences the Church has had in recent times.
With Vietnam, I would say that dialogue is open, with its ups and downs. But it is open and slowly moving forward. There have been some problems, but they have been resolved.
In Vietnam, less than 10% of the population is Christian. According to the organization, Open Doors, many of them have also suffered harassment and persecution because of their faith.
PA
TR: KG
