Vietnam, Vatican to discuss diplomatic ties

[Coventina]

Source: Reuters

HANOI (Reuters) - Communist-ruled Vietnam and the Vatican have agreed to hold their first meeting next week to discuss the establishment of diplomatic ties, Hanoi's Foreign Ministry said.

A Vatican delegation headed by Undersecretary of State Monsignor Pietro Parolin would visit Hanoi for talks on February 16-17, Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Dung said in a statement issued late on Wednesday.

They would meet with the Vietnamese delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Cuong, Dung said without giving any further details of the talks.

Catholicism in Vietnam dates back centuries, through French colonial rule. There were many Catholics in the U.S.-backed South Vietnamese government that fell in 1975. The Communist Party in power since then has been suspicious of Catholic followers, particularly exiles in America and France.



Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE51B0L920090212

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When I was in Vietnam, I was told that about 1/3 of the population is Christian, and most of those are Catholic. Judging by the amount of religious statuary on & around the houses, that seemed to be pretty correct.