Viet Nam-Vatican joint communique on Status of Resident Papal Representative
VGP - The Government of Viet Nam and the Holy See concluded the “Agreement on the Status of the Resident Papal Representative and the Office of the Resident Papal Representative in Viet Nam”.
The agreement was reached on the occasion of the visit by Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong to the Vatican on July 27, 2023, on the basis of the 10th Session of the Joint Working Group between Viet Nam and the Holy See on March 31, 2023 in the Vatican, and with the desire to continue advancing the bilateral relations.
At the meetings between President Vo Van Thuong and Pope Francis, and Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin held on July 27, the two sides hailed the positive progress in the relations between Viet Nam and the Holy See, and the positive contributions by the Catholic community of Viet Nam.
Both sides expressed their belief that the Resident Papal Representative would fulfill the role and mandate empowered in the Agreement, provide support to the Vietnamese Catholic community in their undertakings in the spirit of the law and, always inspired by the Magisterium of the Church, to fulfill the vocation of "accompanying the nation" and to be "good Catholics and good citizens", and contribute to the development of the country.
The Representative would be a bridge to advance relations between Viet Nam and the Holy See, they noted./.