Socialist Republic of Vietnam

HA NOI — Monsignor Pietro Parolin, Vatican under-secretary for foreign affairs, said foreign media reports about the April 10 incident in Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) were untrue and had misled many, especially religious people, in Italy.

Parolin and his entourage visited Dac Lac Province in Tay Nguyen last Friday and met with chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, Nguyen Van Lang.

Lang told the delegation from the Holy See about the socio-economic situation in the province. The chairman said the province leads the country in the production of coffee, corn, cotton and honey.

All of the communes in the province are connected to the national road network and electricity grid.

The province, he said, has made considerable strides in education, culture, and health care. At present Dac Lac has more than 520,000 students enrolled in schools.

Lang said six different religions have followers in the province, the majority of whom are Catholic.

The Dac Lac Diocese was established in 1966. In 1975, there were 60,000 Catholics in the diocese, there are now 153,000 served by 80 priests and bishops.

Lang said, many churches have been built or upgraded and local authorities facilitate the organisation of religious activities and festivals.

At Easter, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung visited and presented gifts to the Buon Ma Thuot Bishop.

On April 10, Lang said a number of extremists incited people to demonstrate, confront police officers, damage property, and violate traffic laws.

Lang denied foreign media reports which accused local authorities and police of repressing the demonstrators and killing more than 400 people.

Lang invited the delegation to visit some sites where the incident took place to speak with local people.

Monsignor Parolin thanked the provincial authorities. He praised Dac Lac’s beautiful landscapes and rich natural resources.

He said that since visiting Dac Lac, he better understood the religious situation in the province.

Parolin said the Vatican wished to co-operate with local authorities and the Vietnamese Government to facilitate the practice of religion.

Parolin said Vietnamese media reports about last month’s demonstrations allowed the world to gain a more complete understanding of the incident.

After speaking with chairman Lang, the Vatican delegation visited Buon Ma Thuot Diocese and a number of local parishes.

Parolin later met with Ngo Yen Thi, chairman of the Government Committee for Religious Affairs.

The Vietnamese and Holy See representatives said their discussions took place in a straightforward, open, and mutually respectful environment, which contributed to enhancing co-operation between Viet Nam and the Vatican.

Parolin’s delegation met with representatives of the Viet Nam Bishop’s Conference, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Viet Nam Communist Party Central Committee’s External Relations Commission.

The delegation met with representative of the Dong Nai People’s Committee, Xuan Loc Diocese and visited Hung King Temple in the northern province of Phu Tho.

The delegation left Viet Nam yesterday. — VNS