Vietnam and Francis: the seed of dialogue that has already borne fruit

In Vietnamese churches, public memorial services are being held for the pontiff. On behalf of the communist authorities, a government official burnt incense in his memory at the headquarters of the Bishops' Conference. No cardinal from this lively and courageous Church will be at the conclave, but everyone remembers Francis’s suggestion that his successor will certainly go to Vietnam.

Milan (AsiaNews) – Long queues of faithful are openly and freely honouring Pope Francis in cathedrals. An official paid homage to the late pontiff on behalf of the government by burning incense in front of the pope’s portrait at the headquarters of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Vietnam (CBCV).

While analysts are trying to read some hidden meaning in the two lines of condolence published in China by the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, the pope’s death showed where the seed of dialogue is already bearing much fruit, namely in China’s neighbour Vietnam, which offers a model for the delicate path relations between the Holy See and China could take.

The news of Francis’s death reached Vietnam on Monday just as the country’s Catholic bishops were gathered for the spring session of their assembly. Quickly, a delegation led by the CBCV president, Archbishop Giuse (Joseph) Nguyễn Năng of Ho Chi Minh City, left for Rome to take part in the pontiff's funeral while the websites of the dioceses were filled with news about Pope Francis, stories from Rome, and the condolences from Vietnamese Catholics.

Although it does not yet have full diplomatic relations with the Vatican, the Vietnamese government in Hanoi did not only send a delegation to the funeral service in St Peter's Square, but Vũ Hoài Bắc, the head of the Government Committee of Religious Affairs, paid tribute to Pope Francis in Ho Chi Minh City, at the CBCV headquarters, lighting incense in front of the pontiff’s portrait and expressing his condolences to the Vietnamese Catholic community for the death of the Pastor of the universal Church.

Vietnam is ruled by a one party Communist regime. The country’s political leadership is in the middle of power struggle, as Tô Lâm's meteoric rise evinced last year. But in matters of religious freedom, the Catholic Church enjoys a far greater degree of freedom than what is granted to Chinese Catholics.

This is the fruit of another process that Francis has strongly supported in his pontificate. In an interview with AsiaNews, Bishop Luy (Louis) Nguyễn Anh Tuấn of Hà Tĩnh and synod father, said that a turning point was the selfless service carried out by Christians to everyone during the  pandemic.

In 2022, after years of patient negotiations, the Vatican and Vietnam reached an agreement, paving the way for the return of a permanent representative of the Holy See in the country, after the last one was expelled 50 years ago with the arrival of the Việt Cộng in Saigon.

This is a crucial stage in the country’s painful recent history, which Pope Francis underscored in a letter to Vietnamese Catholics. Evoking “your courage in working, your tenacity in difficulties, your sense of family and the other natural virtues to which you bear witness,” the pontiff invited them to “give thanks to God with joy, for God’s love is eternal and faithful forever.”

It is therefore somewhat of a paradox that – in the conclave that is about to open, that of the record number of cardinals from Asia – the two Vietnamese cardinals will not be eligible to take part because they are over 80. Both participated in the election of Benedict XVI and Francis.

But Vietnamese Catholics are not too worried about this, for they have learnt through very different trials the way of fidelity to the Church. They will look to the conclave, placing their trust in the work of the Holy Spirit.

This brings to mind the answer Francis gave a year and a half ago, during his return flight from Mongolia, when asked about the long-awaited trip to the Southeast Asian country, that only health reasons prevented him from doing. On that occasion, he said: “If I do not go, I'm sure that [a future Pope] John XXIV will go!,” a hint to what his successor might do. In Hanoi they know that thanks to Francis, that day is now near.

• vietnam
• vatican
• pope francis
• death
• reaction
• diplomatic relations
• china
• conclave