Jakarta –
Earlier this month, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Vatican’s secretary for relations with countries and international organizations, completed a six-day work trip to Vietnam in anticipation of a rumored visit by Pope Francis later in the year.
Gallagher, the papacy’s top diplomat, met with Vietnam’s prime minister and foreign minister and expressed the Vatican’s “gratitude” for the progress made in improving relations between the two countries, including Hanoi’s decision last year to allow the Vatican to send its first ambassador to Vietnam in decades .
A joint working group was created in 2009 to repair ties broken in 1975, after the Communist Party of Vietnam seized power over the entire country following the end of the Vietnam War.
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The dialogue reached its peak last July with the visit of former Vietnamese president Vo Van Thuong to the Vatican, who also met Pope Francis. In December, the Vatican appointed its first permanent representative to Vietnam in decades.
Hanoi has also invited Pope Francis to visit Vietnam, which is believed to have been discussed during Gallagher’s visit this month and when the Pope met with a Vietnamese Communist Party delegation in Rome in January.
But Thuong’s resignation as president last month amid a nationwide anti-corruption campaign may complicate negotiations over a papal visit, although the visit is still expected to take place later this year.
Concerns over the religious right
Although Catholics make up only 6% of Vietnam’s population, they represent about half of all Vietnamese who identify as religious, according to the 2019 census.
However, Vietnam is accused of openly violating the rights of religious organizations and groups, especially the country’s ethnic minorities, who are Buddhists, Catholics and Protestants, as well as a number of religions considered illegal by the communist government.
In December 2022, the United States put Vietnam on a special watch list regarding religious freedom because it “has engaged in or tolerated serious violations of religious freedom.” Several months later, communist authorities published a white paper on religious policy intended to outline a “comprehensive” policy to guarantee religious freedom.
In early 2018, Vietnam passed a law requiring religious communities to register their organizations and places of worship with the government before they are allowed to carry out religious activities.
Threat of foreign influence
Earlier this year, a human rights campaign group leaked Directive 24, a “national security” document created by the Communist Party’s Politburo that analysts said showed the authorities’ desire to increase repression of institutions and ideas that could be influenced by foreign governments.
The report focuses on religious and ethnic identity, including advice to authorities to “prevent the formation of labor organizations based on ethnicity and religion.”
A religious rights activist in Vietnam, who asked not to be named for security reasons, said that rapprochement with the Vatican could lead to the Vietnamese state reducing control over the affairs of Catholics at home.
But the activist added that while there have been improvements in rights for Catholics, this may not be the case for other oppressed religious groups, such as the Theravada Buddhists of the Khmer Krom, minority groups in the south, or the Dega Protestants in Vietnam’s central highlands.
Other prominent human rights activists argue that Vietnam is being used cynically by the Vatican so that the Catholic Church can befriend communist countries, such as China, which is also involved in rapprochement negotiations with the Vatican.
Last December, Pope Francis said more efforts needed to be made to refute claims that “the church does not accept culture or values [Tiongkok]or that the church is dependent on foreign powers.”
Religion is no longer the focus of the European Union
The Vatican-Vietnam relationship also raises questions about how seriously Europe takes religious rights in authoritarian countries like Vietnam.
“The sad fact is that the European Union and most of its member states are blindsided when it comes to defending religious freedom in Vietnam,” said Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s Asia division.
“The European Union should have the same reasons as the US and other like-minded countries to demand that the Vietnamese government lift its strict administrative controls on religion, and allow religious leaders and their followers to practice their religion without constant interference,” he added. (rs/cell)
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(ita/ita)