by JB VU

Bishop Peter Nguyen Van Nhon: "our diocese is small, but we expect that the Holy Father will come visit us soon". Sources in Hanoi speak of concern in Catholic circles because the authorities have not yet provided any answers about resolving the question of the former nunciature.

Dalat (AsiaNews) - Traditional music for the warm welcome extended in Dalat to the Vatican delegation, which arrived in the city yesterday afternoon. More than 10,000 people gathered in front of the cathedral, where Bishop Peter Nguyen Van Nhon, who is also head of the Vietnamese bishops' conference, thanked Msgr Pietro Parolin, Vatican undersecretary of for relations with states, who is leading the delegation, and Msgr Mariano Montemayor and Msgr Nguyen Van Phuong, who accompanied him.

The bishop of Dalat thanked the Holy See representatives for their visit, and the government of the country for helping to make the visit possible. "Though Dalat diocese is just a small one", he added, "we expect that the Holy Father will come here with us soon". Dalat is in the highlands, 330 kilometres from Ho Chi Minh City. The province has 1,218,000 inhabitants, and at least 330,000 Catholics. The diocese is inhabited by various minority ethnic groups, for whom it provides support, in particular the K'Ho and the Churu.

"We pray together", Msgr Parolin said during the Mass, "to have cooperation and unity with one another. As missionaries, bringing faith to the people, we must have great faith ourselves. We help other persons and show our humanity. This is a testimony of Jesus' love for us". He continued, "we will bring word of the spiritual and religious activities of the Vietnamese to the Holy Father. He understands, and wanted us to come here".

Some parishioners told AsiaNews they were "truly happy on account of this visit. We hope", they continued, "that the Holy See can establish diplomatic relations with the government of Vietnam, so that we can have more religious freedom. The Church of Vietnam has made its contribution to the well-being of the country, and when necessary the local Church helps the people, collaborating more and more with other religions, government offices, and social organisations. We believe that with cooperation with the Holy See, we can have more development in the country".

In this regard, there are indications of concern from Catholic circles in Hanoi over the results of the meetings between the Vatican delegation and the authorities (in the photo), in particular concerning the restitution of the former nunciature to the Church. The cause of peaceful protests by Catholics, the complex should be returned to the Church, according to an informal commitment made by the government to put an end to the demonstrations. In response to a question about the status of this affair that according to sources in Hanoi was posed by Msgr Parolin, Nguyen The Thao, chairman of the People's Committee of Hanoi City, praised "the contribution offered by the Catholic community in the common cause for a society of peace, equality, progress and development", but avoided giving any concrete information on resolving the problem. (J.B. An Dang contributed to this report)