(Vatican Radio) Cardinal Fernando Filoni, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, is on a pastoral visit this week to Vietnam. On Tuesday, Cardinal Filoni, who was accompanied by the Archbishop of Hanoi Cardinal Nguyen Van Nhon, met with the Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Pham Quang Nghi, who is also a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam.
During the encounter, Nghi said the Party and State of Vietnam and municipal authorities respect freedom of religion and belief and acknowledge the tradition of solidarity of the nation and among religions.
He congratulated Archbishop Nguyen Van Nhon on his appointment as Cardinal by Pope Francis, saying it accurately reflects his contributions to the Vietnamese Catholic community, which he praised for their contributions to the development of the capital and the nation as a whole.
Cardinal Filoni told Vatican Radio the exchange was “very pleasant.”
“I [told Mr. Nghi] that dialogue is the fundamental element for mutual understanding, but that at the basis of dialogue is there has to be esteem,” Cardinal Filoni said.
“The esteem the Holy See has for the people of Vietnam also is transformed into love, so it is not only a purely formal esteem, but goes deeper and becomes affection, love,” he continued. “The Church has a profound affection, a deep love, for the people of Vietnam, especially its Christian community.”
Cardinal Filoni told Vatican Radio the Church in Vietnam as “very much alive,” which was carrying on the “missionary commitment of Pope Francis.”
During his trip, Cardinal Filoni has met with many of the civil authorities in the country. The day before his meeting with Nghi, he met with Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.
The Cardinal told Vatican Radio he hopes these meetings will further relations between the Holy See and Vietnam.
“I found much openness, a great willingness to carry on the dialogue that has started, and that can progressively take steps forward,” he said.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis marked the Feast of St. Agnes with a centuries-old rite: the blessing of the lambs, from whose wool the Pallium will be made.
As per tradition, the small lambs, traditionally less than a year old, were carried to the Casa Santa Marta, where the Pope blessed them in the atrium, in baskets.
Come summer these same lambs will be shorn to supply the wool from which religious sisters will weave the Pallium.
Agnes means “lamb” in Latin. The saint of the same name was a martyr of the early 4th century, known for her consecrated virginity, she was killed as a young girl for refusing to worship pagan gods.
She is buried in the Basilica named for her, located on Rome’s Via Nomentana. To symbolize St. Agnes’ purity, when being blessed by the Pope one of the lambs wears a crown of white flowers, while the other wears a red floral wreath to recall her faithful witness even unto death.
The Pallium are white wool stoles, decorated with six black crosses worn by Metropolitan Archbishops around their necks as a symbol of their authority and unity with the Pope.
Once woven they are guarded in an urn at the tomb of St Peter until the Pope presents them to newly-appointed Metropolitan Archbishops on June 29, the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis marked the Feast of St. Agnes with a centuries-old rite: the blessing of the lambs, from whose wool the Pallium will be made. As per tradition, the small lambs, traditionally less than a year old, were carried to the Casa Santa Marta, where the Pope blessed them in the atrium, in…
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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has appealed for peace and reconciliation in Niger. Speaking on Wednesday at the weekly General Audience, the Pope explicitly referred to brutalities perpetrated against Christians, children and Churches. He invited those present to join him in praying for the victims of recent violence in Niger. Let us invoke the Lord –…
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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has appealed for peace and reconciliation in Niger. Speaking on Wednesday at the weekly General Audience, the Pope explicitly referred to brutalities perpetrated against Christians, children and Churches. He invited those present to join him in praying for the victims of recent violence in Niger. Let us invoke the Lord –…
Read more