US embassy cable - 05HANOI989

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 000989 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV AND DRL/IRF 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, KIRF, VM, HUMANR, RELFREE 
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR MEETS WITH NEW CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP 
 
Reftels: A) 04 Hanoi 2009, B) Hanoi 580, C) Vatican 454, D) 
04 Vatican 1988, E) Vatican 142 
 
1. (SBU) Summary:  In a meeting with the Ambassador April 
25, newly appointed Archbishop of Hanoi Ngo Quang Kiet said 
that Vietnam's new Ordinance on Religion and its 
implementing decree appear to allow more openness for the 
Catholic Church, but that the Church has yet to test this. 
The Church wants to expand into more educational and 
healthcare activities, but its request to open a charity 
clinic in Ho Chi Minh City was turned down.  The Catholic 
seminary in Hanoi has been allowed to expand and to start 
enrolling classes annually as of 2005.  Catholics in Vietnam 
and the Vatican appreciated gestures by the GVN at the 
passing of Pope John Paul II and the naming of Benedict XVI. 
The Holy See plans to raise the level of representation in 
its annual official visit to Vietnam.  The GVN remains 
cautions on relations with the church, however.  End 
Summary. 
 
2. (SBU) Archbishop Kiet had recently returned from Rome, 
where he was a member of a Vietnamese delegation led by Ho 
Chi Minh City Archbishop Cardinal Man, and also including 
the bishops of Thai Binh, Bui Chu, Phat Diem, and My Tho 
dioceses.  Cardinal Man had stayed on as an elector of the 
new pope, while the others had returned after the funeral of 
John Paul II.  The Chinese were represented in Rome only by 
a number of seminary students, Kiet noted.  He told the 
Ambassador that the Catholic Church is growing in Vietnam, 
"especially in urban areas."  "Thanks to U.S. and other 
international pressure, there is increased religious freedom 
in Vietnam."  Kiet acknowledged that his own elevation to 
Archbishop required approval by the GVN, however. 
 
3. (SBU) Addressing to Vietnam's new Ordinance on Religion 
and its implementing Decree (Refs. A and B), the Archbishop 
said that opportunities for religious organizations appear 
to be "more open," but that the Church has not yet scheduled 
any activities that would test the new legal framework.  The 
Ordinance provides enhanced opportunities for the Church to 
conduct charitable activities.  In a meeting with Prime 
Minister Phan Van Khai shortly after being named Archbishop, 
Kiet had "insisted" on the engagement of the Church in 
education and healthcare activities.  Currently, it is only 
allowed to operate kindergartens and small "health 
stations."  The PM responded that the Church is now approved 
to engage in healthcare activities.  However, according to 
Kiet, Cardinal Man of Ho Chi Minh City had requested 
permission to open a charity clinic, but this was refused 
two weeks ago.  The Ambassador commented, and Archbishop 
Kiet agreed, that this appeared to be a case of local 
officials moving more slowly than Hanoi.  The Ambassador 
pledged to raise this matter with the Minister of Health. 
 
4. (SBU) Archbishop Kiet discussed positive developments in 
the Church's ability to train seminarians.  The Hanoi 
Seminary will for the first time begin classes yearly this 
September, and has also received permission to physically 
expand at a new site near Hanoi.  Previously it had been 
restricted to new classes every other year.  No other 
seminaries have been authorized to hold yearly classes, 
however.  The Hanoi Seminary now has 240 students enrolled 
in its seven-year course, and will bring in 50 more this 
year.  The Church hopes to open two new seminaries: first in 
the south, followed by one in the north, but no dates have 
been set. 
 
5. (SBU) Despite the improvements, Kiet expressed 
frustration about Government controls' creating an imbalance 
of priests.  The Hanoi Seminary must train students from 
eight dioceses, while northern Vietnam's other seminary, in 
Vinh, draws from only two.  Although the Hanoi Seminary is 
larger, the end result is that it can only train seven new 
priests per diocese each year, while Vinh can train fifteen. 
Obtaining GVN approval for priests to be ordained after 
their graduation is now "rather easy," however.  The Church 
has not yet requested moving priests from the south to the 
north, where the shortage is greater.  The Ordinance appears 
to allow this, and the Church will try to do so "later this 
year."  Kiet also noted the Church has a number of 
outstanding disputes over property seized by the State, but 
said these will be "very difficult to resolve." 
 
6. (SBU) Turning to Vietnam's relations with the Vatican, 
Archbishop Kiet said that the Holy See "would like to 
establish official relations" (Ref C).  In the Church's 
view, ties appear to be warming.  The GVN made positive 
gestures by offering condolences upon the death of Pope John 
Paul II and congratulations on the appointment of Benedict 
XVI.  The Vatican's annual delegation to Vietnam has been 
delayed by events in Rome, but it may take place in June. 
The Church hopes that Cardinal Sepe, Prefect for the 
Evangelization of Peoples, will be approved to lead that 
delegation. (Note: Previous delegations have been headed by 
Vatican Deputy Foreign Minister Pietro Parolin - Ref D.  End 
Note.)  Furthermore, Vietnam's Government Committee for 
Religious Affairs intends to send a delegation to Rome for 
discussions.  Nonetheless, Archbishop Kiet speculated that 
the formal establishment of ties would depend on "the 
international situation," including U.S.-Vietnam relations 
and the situation of the Church in China. 
 
7. (SBU) In a separate meeting on April 19, MFA Western 
Europe Deputy Director Ngo Tien Dzung told Poloff that the 
GVN has "received warmly" twelve delegations from the 
Vatican since the "principles of their interaction" were 
defined in a 1990 agreement.  The Vatican has "sometimes 
respected these principles, and sometimes not," however. 
Specifically, in "many cases," the Vatican has not consulted 
with the GVN before naming bishops and archbishops.  For 
example, Pope John Paul II named Archbishop Man of Ho Chi 
Minh City to be a Cardinal in 2004 without consulting with 
the GVN first.  (Note: Archbishop Kiet's appointment was 
approved in advance with the GVN, and we know of none other 
than Man's that did not receive GVN approval.  In the past, 
the Vatican and GVN had disputes over some nominations, 
however, and many bishoprics have remained leaderless for 
years.  End Note.)  Dzung explained that the GVN has a 
"difficult history" with the Vatican, which "was opposed to 
our independence."  The establishment of formal relations 
was not raised during a recent meeting between National 
Assembly Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Vu Mao and 
Vatican officials in Rome, other GVN sources told Poloff. 
(Note: President Tran Duc Luong was quoted in media reports 
earlier this year as saying that, "It's only a question of 
timing to officially establish diplomatic relations between 
Vietnam and the Vatican" - Ref E.  End Note.) 
 
MARINE