Vatican’s top diplomat begins a 6-day visit to Vietnam aimed at normalizing relations

By ANIRUDDHA GHOSAL
Associated Press

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — The Vatican’s top diplomat has begun a six-day visit to Vietnam as part of efforts to normalize relations with the communist nation. Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Holy See’s foreign minister, met his Vietnamese counterpart Bui Thanh Son on Tuesday and expressed the Vatican’s “gratitude” for the progress that has been made to improve ties. The visit took place after Archbishop Marek Zalewski became the first Vatican representative to live and open an office in the Southeast Asian country. Relations between the Vatican and Vietnam were severed in 1975, after the Communist Party established its rule over the entire country following the end of the Vietnam War. Relations have been strained ever since, although the sides have had regular talks since at least the late 1990s.