Vietnam and the Vatican need to maintain regular meetings between their leaders and actively prepare necessary conditions towards establishing diplomatic relations. 

This was agreed by Politburo member and Vietnam Fatherland Front President (VFF) Nguyen Thien Nhan and the Vatican’s Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin at their meeting on July 1 in the Italian city of Rome.

Both sides extolled the progress in bilateral relations as demonstrated by visits by Vietnamese Party and State senior officials to the Vatican and meetings with the Pope. 

They quoted Pope Francis’s remarks that a Vietnamese Catholic must be a good citizen and patriot who sides with the nation to build a country of prosperity and happiness. 

VFF President Nhan greatly valued the Pope’s recent message on environmental protection, saying he had discussed this issue with Chairman of the Episcopal Council of the Catholic Church of Vietnam Paul Bui Van Doc. He stated his intention to work with the council to select appropriate environmental activities to encourage Catholic followers to engage in, adding that environmental protection is also a key policy of the Vietnamese Party and State. 

The VFF leader said as an organisation representing and protecting the legitimate rights and interests of Vietnamese people from all social strata, the VFF appreciates the contributions of more than 6 million Catholic followers to national development. 

Cardinal Pietro Parolin also hailed the recent positive advances in relations between Vietnam and the Vatican and hailed the VFF’s role in protecting the legitimate rights and interests of the Vietnamese people, including Catholics. 

The Secretary of State expressed the Vatican’s view that Governments and people across the globe need to join hands to prevent conflicts and protect global peace.