The 12th meeting of the Vietnam - Holy See Joint Working Group took place recently in Vatican City, discussing the bilateral relations and the current situation of the Catholic Church in the Southeast Asian country.
The event was co-chaired by Deputy Minister of Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Lê Thị Thu Hằng and Under-Secretary for Relations with States of the Holy See Monsignor Mirosław Wachowski.
During the event, the two sides held an extensive exchange of views on the Vietnam and Holy See relations and the current situation of the Catholic Church in Viet Nam. Both sides acknowledged the positive contributions of the Church to the overall development of Viet Nam, in the spirit of living out the Gospel in the world by being good Catholics and good citizens.
Both sides expressed satisfaction with the progress in their bilateral relations since the 11th meeting of the Viet Nam – Holy See Joint Working Group, which took place in Hanoi in May 2024, including through regular engagement and consultations, exchanges of delegations at various levels, especially at the high level, as well as the activities of the Resident Papal Representative in Hanoi Archbishop Marek Zalewski.
The two sides underlined the importance of further promoting their bilateral relations through high-level exchanges, and agreed to continue holding regular Meetings of the Joint Working Group.
The Meeting took place in an atmosphere of friendship, trust and mutual respect.
On the occasion of the visit to the Vatican, the Vietnamese delegation was received by Pope Leo XIV, and paid courtesy calls to the Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and to the Secretary for Relations with States and International Organisations, Archbishop Paul Gallagher./.
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