VATICAN CITY (UCAN) -- During a six-day official visit to Vietnam, Holy See delegates and Vietnamese government authorities discussed the normalization of diplomatic ties, "and examined together some concrete modalities for starting the process of establishing diplomatic relations."

The Vatican said in a statement issued after the delegates returned to Rome on March 12 that the Vietnamese "gave assurances that, on the instructions of the Prime Minister, the competent authorities were already at work" on this.

Monsignor Pietro Parolin, Undersecretary for Relations with States (the Holy See's "deputy foreign minister"), headed the March 6-11 visit. With him were Monsignor Luis Mariano Montemayor of the Secretariat of State and Monsignor Barnabe Nguyen Van Phuong of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, who has been on every Vatican delegation to Vietnam since 1989.

The Vatican said the Vietnamese authorities "gave particular importance to this, the 14th official visit of a Holy See delegation," which came soon after Pope Benedict XVI met Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on Jan. 25.

The Holy See delegation held "working sessions" with the Committee for Religious Affairs, led by Nguyen The Doanh, and the sessions were conducted in "a climate of cordiality, frankness and respect," the Vatican statement says.

According to the Vatican, the Holy See delegates reviewed with their government counterparts "the application of the Ordinance on beliefs and religions of 18 June 2004, which outlines the Vietnamese government policy in religious matters." They also discussed "some episcopal nominations that are under consideration" and "other topics related to the life and activities of the Catholic Church in Vietnam."

The government side "highlighted the role the Catholic Church plays in the country," the Vatican said, while the Holy See delegates expressed hope that Vietnam's Catholics can increasingly "contribute to the spread of moral values, especially as regards the formation of young people and the promotion of solidarity towards the weakest sectors of the population" in this time of "rapid socio-economic changes in Vietnamese society."

Both sides emphasized that outstanding problems "can be faced and duly resolved in mutual agreement, through patient and constructive dialogue," the Vatican said. It noted that the Holy See delegates discussed normalizing diplomatic relations, a top priority on their agenda, when they met Le Cong Phung, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, as well as Pham Xuan Son, Vice President of the Commission for Foreign Affairs of the Communist Party, and Vu Mao, President of the Committee for Foreign Affairs of the National Assembly.

Aside from meeting government and state officials, the Holy See delegates also met with Bishop Paul Nguyen Van Hoa of Nha Trang, head of the Vietnam Bishops' Conference and its permanent council.

The Vatican described as "particularly touching" visits the delegates made to Quy Nhon and Kontum, the only dioceses never before visited by a Holy See delegation. Monsignor Parolin and his companions celebrated Mass with the bishops of those dioceses and most of their clergy in what the Vatican called "a spirit of deep joy and ecclesial communion."

Kontum diocese, in the central highlands, "is mainly composed of faithful belonging to ethnic minorities, the so-called 'Montagnards,' who participated in great numbers at the various prayer meetings," says the Vatican statement.

The Vatican added that the delegates also met the president of the local Popular Committee while visiting each diocese, and celebrated the Eucharist for the faithful in St. Joseph's Cathedral in Hanoi and in Hon Gai parish at Ha Long in Hai Phong diocese, near the border with China.

The Vatican also said the delegation visited "numerous religious houses, works of charity, boarding schools and kindergartens run by a Church, which never ceases to arouse admiration for its courage, vitality and dynamism."

The Vatican said the delegation "brought the encouragement and blessing of the Holy Father, Benedict XVI, towards whom the faithful showed signs of profound affection, filial attachment and fidelity, in the hope that the Pope himself may one be able to make a pastoral visit to the country."

END