The pope will appoint a representative for Vietnam in a first step toward establishing diplomatic relations between the Vatican and the communist nation.Vietnam is home to 6 million Roman Catholics — the second largest Catholic community in Southeast Asia after the Philippines — but there have been tensions for decades between Catholics and the Hanoi government over church property seized by the Communists and other issues.
This week a joint working group set up to improve ties met at the Vatican and agreed to appoint a nonresident representative to Vietnam, according to a Vatican statement released Saturday.
Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi called it "a very concrete step toward diplomatic relations." He said the representative would be allowed to travel to Vietnam, but details were still being worked out.
Usually, the Vietnamese government insists on approving most church appointments, and closely monitors religious groups in the country.
There have been improvements in ties, however, since the joint group first met last year. Most notably, Pope Benedict XVI and the president of Vietnam held talks in December — the first such meeting since the Communists took power in 1954.
On Wednesday and Thursday, the working group reviewed the Catholic Church in the country, with the two sides agreeing there had been "encouraging developments" in Catholic life in Vietnam, the statement said.
This week's agreement would not just deepen Vatican-Vietnam relations, but also improve "the bonds between the Holy See and the local Catholic Church," the Vatican statement said.
The Vietnamese said they had consistently granted freedom of religion.
Vatican officials asked for "further conditions" to be established to expand the role of the church's role in areas such as health care, education and charity.
The meeting was co-chaired by the Vatican's undersecretary for relations with states and the Vietnamese foreign vice-minister.
The group's next meeting will take place in Vietnam.
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