News from China II

Sandro Magister at www.chiesa has chimed in with his usual excellent work.  Aside from his usual links to the primary sources, he provides a nice summary of the latest happenings in the relationship between the ChiComs and the Holy See including this description of the genesis of the recent agreement:

That day, [Francis'] touchdown in New York on his way to Philadelphia coincided with the landing of Chinese president Xi Jinping, who was expected at the United Nations. Everything had been calculated for the two to cross paths “accidentally” at the airport and exchange a greeting. Xi was aware of this ardent desire of the pope, but in the end he let it drop and the meeting did not take place.

From that moment on, however, the secret contacts between the Vatican and Beijing underwent an acceleration. In October and then in January a delegation of six representatives of the Holy See went to the Chinese capital. And in April of this year, the two sides set up a joint working group that now seems to have come to an understanding over a point that the Vatican takes very seriously: the appointment of bishops.

Read it all for details on the excommunicated bishops of the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association and their being brought into the fold under the deal.

Magister notes:

The example that is brought up most often is that of Vietnam, where the candidate for bishop is proposed by the Vatican but the government can veto him, and then on to other candidates until the government approves one of them.

But for China, the solution of which Cardinal Tong appears to have knowledge sees the roles reversed. The candidate will be selected and proposed to the Vatican by the Chinese episcopal conference. Only that this conference is a creature of the communist party, completely at the beck and call the regime, devoid of “underground” bishops and with one of the excommunicated eight as its president.

Let us pray for our Chinese brethren as they enter this brave new world created by the Holy Father.

News from China

In recent days, relations between the Holy See and the People's Republic of China have been in the news.  This column by Anthony Clark at Catholic World Report is as good a recap as any of recent events.  The column describes Cardinal Tong's statement, "the pope will choose from a list of proposed candidates for ordination to bishop by China’s bishops and state authorities, which would finally normalize how bishops are selected and ordained in China."

Clark quotes from the statement,

Fortunately, after working for many years on this issue, the Catholic Church has gradually gained the reconsideration of the Chinese government, which is now willing to reach an understanding with the Holy See on the question of the appointment of bishops in the Catholic Church in China and seek a mutually acceptable plan. . . . The Apostolic See has the right to choose from the recommended list the candidates it considers as most suitable and the right to reject the candidates recommended by a bishops’ conference of China and the bishops in the provinces under it.

Hmm.

Mr. Clark goes on to describe Cardinal Zen's reaction.  Zen, the long time opponent to any compromise, wrote a response posted by AsiaNews.it. The title says it all: “My concerns over China-Holy See dialogue and repercussions on Chinese Church”

The end of Mr. Clark's column is a brief summary of  Sino-Holy See relations.

The point that stands out is Mr. Clark's comparison to Vietnam, "but it should be recalled that the Vatican’s proposed agreement with China is comparable to agreements made with communist Vietnam quite some time ago. In June of 2010, Pope Benedict XVI established a similar form of diplomatic relations with Vietnam, and the Church there has continued to flourish under a circumstance that Pope Francis is now proposing with China."

Long time readers know where I stand vis-a-vis the ChiComs.  They are not to be trusted.   Mr. Clark's comparison to Vietnam is on the surface apt due to PRChina and Vietnam being communist, but whether the Church is truly prospering there is debatable.

Will the Pope Sell Out to Red China?

As with remarriage and communion, the issue of the appointment of bishops in Red China seems to be one where Francis says one thing, but his underlings do another at the expense of Benedict's past actions that Francis has claimed to support fully.  Read this from Sandro Magister and try to discern for yourself just where the Holy Father is going with relations with the PRC.

EF in Afpak

A blogging colleague contacted me this morning with the following:

Good morning everyone.

Sorry for the mass email but I'd appreciate you taking a look at this and putting it on your blog, writing about it or, simply, emailing it around if you don't have a blog or paper to write for.

These pics show something I feel is simply incredible for so many reasons -- the Traditional Latin Mass being prayed in Afghanistan.

Please consider doing anything you can to tell this story. It's one that deserves to be told:

http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2011/10/traditional-latin-mass-in-afghanistan.html

Afpak of course refers to the Afghanistan-Pakistahttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifn theater of operations. Click on the link and check it out. Be sure to pray for the Pour Souls of the Society.

A New Voice in the Holy See's China Policy

Sandro Magister's latest piece talks about the recent events in the People's Republic of China and the new secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, Archbishop Savio Hon Taifai. Magister includes a translated interview of the archbishop with Avvenire.

The two sides are manned principally by Father Jerome Heyndrickx and Cardinal Zen. The former takes a compromising approach and the later not so much. Magister sees Hon as occupying a position that is much closer to that of the cardinal's than Heyndricks, though Archbishop Hon is not in lockstep with Zen. Reading the interview provided, Archbishop Hon's answers are on the whole prudent and level-headed.

More to come, I'm sure.

Japanese Earthquake: 8.9!

All you Twenty-six Martyrs of Japan, intercede for your people in their time of struggle.

Let us pray to Our Lady of Akita that she will watch over and pray for the people of Japan.

8.9...

Korean War 2.0

Technically it's the same war. In 1953, an armistice was signed, ending hostilities. Over time, there were incidents, but the armistice held. A few years ago, North Korea (Norks) unilaterally pulled out of the armistice. Several months ago, a South Korean (ROK) ship was sunk, most likely by a Nork submarine. Today, if you haven't seen the news, the Norks fired about 200 artillery shells at an ROK island close to the maritime border and the ROK retaliated with 80 shells of its own. Two ROK marines died and others were wounded. The ROK has stated that any further provocation would be met with retaliation. Japan is on alert.

Let us pray for those who've died and for those still alive on the front lines. Let us ask that the leaders on both sides be given wisdom that they may avoid a deadly and costly confrontation.

The Condom Drama is in the past. Welcome to the real world.

Vietnam

Magister writes today about Vietnam. The Vatican got to appoint a representative to the country, but it seems the quid pro quo required entailed the archbishop of Hanoi resigning for some fake reason, but really because he wasn't docile enough for the Vietnamese government. There are eight million Catholics in Vietnam out of a population of 84 million and they are growing. They are also politically active with peaceful demonstrations and marches. But of course, the secretary of state is playing a role; from Magister: "In 2008, cardinal secretary of state Tarcisio Bertone wrote to the bishop of Hanoi to keep his faithful in check, in order to avoid harming "the dialogue with the authorities.""

Included is an essay by Lorenzo Fazzini entitled, "Rome and Hanoi Closer to Each Other? The Steps of Patience" which goes into more depth.

For those interested, Southeast Asia is once again getting hot. The Spratly Islands claimed by just about everyone along the South China Sea have come up again in the contest of maritime rights and of late the Vietnamese have been purchasing submarines from Russia. Into such a mire the Vatican wades with its new representative...

1,001 Posts

I was going to commemorate the 1,000th post with lots of cool things, but I just noticed that that was the last post. I guess I wasn't paying that much attention. Oh well. That spares me the obligation to get creative.

The Pope is going to Israel soon and will be visiting a Palestinian refugee camp.

Professor Glendon (I don't recall right offhand her first name) declined the Laetare Medal from Notre Dame as she didn't want to the token next to Obama. Father Jenkins has rounded up a judge who is a past recipient and the medal won't be given out this year. Nice sidestepping there, Father.

Archbishop Ranjith is said to be headed home to Colombo, but there's no official word.

Over at Rorate, they're busily commenting about curial rumblings surrounding the exile of Ranjith (whenever it eventually happens if it does). One poster, Matt, made an excellent point:

With all of this rumbling, the Holy Father should do what any Head of anything does, he or his designates walk into the office of the slacker prelate with security and tell him, "Thank you for your services but the Holy Father had decided it's time to part company." They are then given fifteen minutes to clean out their desks and are escorted out. Done. Why this is so hard for the Pope is beyond me and the reason why so much trouble exists in the Church. Do what the heck you want and no one can fire you? No wonder they act like that.

These prelates are not OWED, or ENTITLED. They serve at the pleasure of the Pope and can be dismissed at his pleasure. I suppose the Vatican has an alternate reality

If the One (Mr. Obama for you neophytes) can go around sacking top bank officials and the CEO of GM, I should think the Pope himself could do as Matt suggests.

That's enough of a round-up for now. I ask for your prayers in this hour of anxiety for me.

Backsliding in Mainland China

We haven't hit on ChiComs lately, but Sandro Magister quotes at length a piece by the founder of Asia News.

The main points:
The bishop of Beijing, who was approved by the Vatican, has been giving speeches that appear to place him under the thumb of the Communists. As summarized by Magister:

In fact, the new bishop, Joseph Li Shan (in the photo) whom cardinal secretary of state Tarcisio Bertone had hailed as "a very good and suitable person," is increasingly stringing together actions submissive toward the regime. To such an extent that many among the faithful already consider him a "traitor."

The quoted article by Father Bernardo Cervellera points out that a second letter sent by Cardinal Bertone to the Chinese bishops was seen as weak and that many younger bishops of the official church have no role models and do not remember a time without Communist control. Cardinal Zen of Hong Kong has spoken out to sound the alarm on this backsliding.

The cardinal continues: "So, martyrdom has become a stupid thing? That’s absurd; a short-sighted view! Reaching compromises might make sense as a short-term strategy but it cannot last forever. Being secretly united with the Holy Father and at the same time affiliated with a Church that declares itself autonomous from Rome is a contradiction."

Finally, Cardinal Zen ends with a fraternal appeal: "Dear brother bishops and priests, look at the example of Saint Stephen and all the martyrs of our history! Remember that suffering for the sake of the faith is the basis of victory even if right now it might appear as defeat."

Father-General Nicolás

Last Call for the Society of Jesus – To Obedience (with the homily of Cardinal Rodé

Reaction at RORATE CAELI of the election of Father Adolfo Nicolás

Magister's thoughts snd excerpts from Christianity in Crisis: Asia by Father Nicolás

Vietnam and the Church

Asia News:

Ho Chi Minh City (AsiaNews) – Vietnam’s state-run press reported the arrival in Hanoi of a delegation representing the Holy See to discuss religious freedom and the normalisation of diplomatic relations. Newspapers report that the Vatican delegation, led by Undersecretary of State for Relations with States Mgr Pietro Parolin, will work directly with the government and the local Church. It is scheduled to remain in the country until March 11.
[...]

“We hope that in the future the Church will have a Vatican representative,” Father Joseph, a priest in one of Ho Chi Minh City’s parishes, told AsiaNews. “Although Hanoi and Rome do not have diplomatic relations Vietnamese Catholics can carry out some religious activities since 1986 when the country opened its doors to economic development and integration into the international community. However, the government still intervenes in the appointment of bishops and sets limits to the number of priests per parish.”

Bolding is mine. Not much really needs to be said here. The Vietnamese and the Holy See are where the PRC and the Holy See could be in a few years. Time will tell.

The interesting thing is the priest's remark about 'religious activities'. I love euphemisms like that. Just what is he driving at with that? They can go to Mass unhindered? The sacraments? When mentioned in the context of economic development and international integration, 'religious activities' seems so common and trivial.

A bit about China

Feria in both calendars

Last week, Sandro Magister came out with a piece on the People's Republic of China. The sum of it is that the government wants better relations with the Holy See and the state-run Catholic associatioin wants to save its fief from being left behind.

Magister's comments are interesting and they mirror what I've been saying all along, to wit, the senior leadership of the People's Republic could care less about the Catholic Church except insofar as the Church affects its hold on power. As it stands right now, with a clandestine Church that is larger than the official Patriotic Association, the senior leadership's best option is making the clandestine Church legitimate at the expense of its corrupt and pointless official association.

Thus, in order to bring the Catholic population in China under the aegis of the harmonious society as well as score the biggest foreign policy coup in quite awhile by restoring relations with the Holy See, the senior leadership is quite prepared to do away with the Patriotic Assocation. Of course, what we see now is the turf war as the association does what it can to drive the PRC and the Holy See apart in order to save itself...

Going to Korea?

The Korea Times:

VATICAN CITY _ Could Pope Benedict XVI be the first head of the Roman Catholic Church to make a visit to South and North Korea? Chances are being heightened after a breakthrough was made in the North Korean nuclear standoff on Tuesday.

President Roh Moo-hyun is scheduled to pay a visit to Pope Benedict XVI with first lady Kwon Yang-suk on Thursday and talk about the agreement made during the six-party talks in Beijing on Pyongyang’s nuclear disarmament.

It is the second time for a South Korean president to visit Vatican City. South Korea has two cardinals _ Stephen Cardinal Kim Sou-hwan and Nicholas Cardinal Cheong Jin-suk _ and some 5.1 million Catholics.

The late Pope John Paul II visited South Korea in 1984 to mark the 200th anniversary of Catholicism in the country and then in 1989 to attend the 44th foreign pastoral visit.

Pope Benedict XVI has not yet made a visit to either of the two Koreas.
[...]

That's all well and good. Not much to talk about.

North Korea agreed to shut down its main nuclear reactor and eventually disable its nuclear weapons program in exchange for energy assistance, just four months after the Stalinist state conducted its first nuclear test.
[...]

Trusting the Norks to follow through at this point in time is nuts. If in a year spent dismantling under constant supervision with verifiable results, the Norks have made definite progress, then East Asia can relax.

The geopolitics of space

AsiaNews:

As affirmed by a senior Chinese military Official, who confirms the inevitability of an arms race in space. According to officials of the US Government, if military competition increases, the USA could reconsider commercial relations with Beijing.

Beijing (AsiaNews/Angency): “There will be increasingly more weapons in outer space during our lifetime.” Despite the general will to protect a pacific use of space, the rapid growth of arms in space is inevitable, retains Yao Yunzhu, a senior Colonel in the People's Liberation Army.

Yao, who heads the Asia-Pacific Office at the Academy of Military Science in Beijing, during a dinner at the Davos World Economic Forum (Switzerland), observed that “what China really wanted was that humanity would use space for peaceful purposes alone”. But, she added, in apparent reference to the United States, if there was going to be "a space superpower, it's not going to be alone, and China is not going to be the only one". {space superpower]
[...]

But US government circles say that a military escalation would have consequences in commerce as well. Christopher Padilla, assistant Secretary of Commerce visiting Beijing, comments that the Chinese missile had confirmed the worst fears of Washington, and that, “none of this will lessen international anxieties about the growth in China's military capabilities”. "Even as we work to encourage China's peaceful development and civilian trade, we must also hedge our relations with China."

In the commercial field, the trade deficit of the US with China is expected to show an increase of up to 230-240 billions of dollars during 2006. For a long time Washington has been asking Beijing to revalue the yuan, protect intellectual property, and to consent to full access to US goods and services in the Chinese market, measures that would allow the reduction of the deficit. China has never directly refused, but has always procrastinated in adopting these measures.

Now the new military concern could make the commercial issues even more urgent. The United States is worried that China's programme to build or buy advanced ships, missiles and other weapons could eventually catch up with US military might.

In the post-9/11 military shake-up, an increasingly independent US Space Command with control over US assets in space and their protection was gutted and subsumed into Strategic Command. Ever since, certain circles have lamented the fact and called for the recreation of an independent command with one one mission: outer space.

Given the threat of the People's Republic of China, this could happen, though not immediately.

Why would an independent command serve the US and its allies and the world in general better? As it's often noted, something that does many things at once usually does none of them well. This usually is said of things like fighter planes and naval ships, but it also applies for the most part to bureaucracies as well. When Space Command got folded up into Strategic Command, it became just another component of a command with a completely different mission: strategic defense based around the nuclear deterrent with all the attendant submarines, planes and missiles on earth. A change in focus usually leads to reappropriation of funds and a lessening of concern for certain other areas. When your superiors are fighting it out for dollars in Congress, they may not always be looking out for your particular sub-command's best interest because they have their own pet projects and priorities.

An independent Space Command would have its own mission and its own well-being in mind: the effective defense of US space assets. Just what are those assets? Think of how much fun it would be if the PRC just starts shooting down GPS satellites or commercial communications satellites? When people think 'militarization of space', they usually think of nukes and laser systems and the like, but in the here and now, we're talking just what mainland China has done, the destruction of orbiting satellites.

The Asian Church

Saint Polycarp, Bp of Smyrna
Saints Timothy and Titus, bishops

Vietnam
The newspaper of the Communist Party of Vietnam:

At the meetings, PM Dung informed the Pope Benedict and Cardinal Bertone about Vietnam's achievements after 20 years of implementing renovation policies aimed at openness and international integration.

PM Dung affirmed that the Communist Party and the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam have always respected democracy and the right to freely practise one's beliefs and religion, which have been written into laws, and consistently implementing them to facilitate the advancement of religious groups, considering this as an important element to ensure national unity.

All the other news stories out there say pretty much the same thing as far as there was a meeting, it lasted about half an hour, the PM met with Cardinal Bertone and everyone came away saying relations ought to improve.

Korea
Sandro Magister has up an interview with the Archbishop of Seoul from the CEI newspaper from November 22 of last year.

“Over the past ten years the Catholic Church in Korea has gone from less than three million faithful to over five million,” recounts cardinal Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk, who has been archbishop of Seoul since 1998. “And vocations also continue to flourish. By now we are 10 percent of the population, the highest percentage in Asia after the Philippines and Vietnam. In Seoul, we make up 14 percent of the population, and we have launched an initiative called the Evangelization Twenty Twenty Movement, with the aim of reaching 20 percent by 2020. Particularly promising is missionary activity among the young soldiers, whose ranks have swelled to 18 percent Catholic as of last year.”
[...]

A: I think of the defense of human life beginning with conception, and of clear opposition to any attempt at genetic manipulation. Unfortunately, our country has become famous throughout the world for the activities of a pseudoscientist who manipulated more than two thousand embryos for research that turned out to be phony. Another challenge that our society and our Church are facing concerns the family. Currently, one marriage out of three ends in divorce after just three years. Not to mention the problem of young people besieged by a mass culture saturated with sex and violence. With respect to these issues, the Catholic Church in Seoul, but also in other places, is on the front line of spreading the Gospel and defending those Christian values that are so valuable for personal happiness, but also for harmonious coexistence.
[...]

China
Last but not least, Cardinal Zen's interview with the AP has been published by the International Herald Tribune. It is all worth reading, but this caught my attention as it applies not only to Vatican policy, but everyone's policy.

"I think in this moment the most important thing we have to do is to assess the situation, to assess what we have done in many years and realize that we must change strategy," he said. "Because in so many years we have accepted compromises which in the beginning were good and necessary, but after so many years we can see there is a bad side effect."

Vietnamese PM to visit visited

Monsters & Critics:

Vatican City - Pope Benedict XVI held talks at the Vatican on Thursday with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, the first ever such meeting between the leader of the Roman Catholic Church and the head of government of the South-East Asian communist state.

The 25-minute private audience, described as 'cordial' by Italy's Ansa news agency, saw the two leaders exchange gifts and discuss bilateral relations.

Tan Dung later met with the Vatican's Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.
[...]

But Thursday's meeting appeared to confirm reports that diplomatic relations between the two countries may soon be restored under Benedict XVI.

Catholics in Vietnam welcomed the talks, expressing hope that the meeting would improve their condition back home.

'I hope the meeting will be good for Catholics and the Church,' said parishioner Nguyen Thuy Luyen prior to Tan Dung's visit to the Vatican. 'Better relations with the (Vietnamese) government will improve the situation of Catholics in Vietnam.'

The communist regime, which once tightly controlled religious activities, has loosened its grip on both Catholics as well as Buddhists.

But the Vatican remains frustrated that the Vietnamese government retains final say over Church issues, such as senior leadership appointments.

Church officials in Hanoi have refused to comment on Thursday's historic meeting but in a recent interview with the religious news service AsiaNews, Cardinal Pham Minh Man, the archbishop of Ho Chi Minh City, said that diplomatic ties 'should not face obstacles anymore.'

'I think through meetings and dialogue, the Vatican and the Vietnamese government will understand each other better and their relations will improve,' Man was quoted as saying.

With an estimated 6 million followers, Vietnam has one of the largest Catholic populations in Asia.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

Bolding mine. Just to reiterate, a better Vatican-Vietnamese relationship is a harbinger of wider Catholic influence throughout Asia. Mainland China suppresses the Church and Indian Catholics face persecution at the grassroots level. Vietnam on the other hand, though restricting the Church to some degree, does not seem overly recalcitrant in working with the Holy See.

Reaction to the Chinese letter

Saint Timothy, Bp of Ephesus
Saint Francis de Sales

I was going to sort through the news on the letter to China, but everything floating around out there is just rehash of the basic story. We'll really just have to wait until the letter makes its appearance to judge just what the Pope's intentions are regarding mainland China and Taiwan.

China, again (and again)

There is all this talk in the media about some kind of olive branch to be offered to the People's Republic of China. The Pope will be sending a letter to Chinese Catholics.

What will the letter say?

Is this one of those times when we will see the Vatican perform its usual act of feel-good diplomacy? Or is it possible that this in fact could be a real example of Benedict's call of a smaller Church, dedicated to its core beliefs?

As I've said again and again here, the PRC is not to be trusted. The Communists and their Patriotic Association lackeys have done nothing to earn any kind of special compromises. They arrest bishops, priests and laity. People disappear into the bamboo gulag forever. Cardinal Zen has written the preface to a collection of writings by various Chinese martyrs. He recounts one episode from his hometown:

The most relevant episode happened on the tragic day of September 8, 1955, when police conducted a gigantic raid, arresting hundreds of Catholics - from the bishop to priests, from catechists to members of the faithful belonging to [religious] associations, above all the Legion of Mary. They were brought to the dog racing stadium, where the bishop, the heroic Ignatius Gong Pinmei - created a cardinal in pectore in 1979, while he was still in prison - instead of renouncing the faith, cried out amid the distress of the Catholics huddled there and the disdain of the guards: “Long live Christ the King, long live the pope!”

In mainland China, all suffer for Christ. Countless martyrs have died and will die before the political landscape of the PRC is changed for the better. The question is will some kind of detente between the Holy See and the PRC help or hurt?

Let us ask this question instead...

The Red Chinese agree to give the Holy See final say over ordinations, which is allegedly the key sticking point. In return, the Pope plans on visiting at the time of the Olympics in 2008. Between then and now, the Red Chinese go on with persecuting others, Christians of other churches, Falun Gong, political dissidents.

Has in this hypothetical the situation of Chinese Catholics been helped or hurt?

Vietnamese PM to visit

Asia News:

[The intro]
It will be the first visit by a Vietnamese premier. The normalisation of diplomatic relations will top the agenda. For Hanoi there is the prospect of getting the Church to provide assistance to the poor and the disabled as well as help to revitalise the country’s soul at a time when people are in a rush for riches and corruption is growing.

[The main article]
Vatican City (AsiaNews) – On January 25 the head of a Vietnamese government will be in the Vatican for the first time. Prime Minister Nguyễn Tấn Dũng’s visit, which official sources have not yet announced, represents a further sign that relations between the Vatican and Hanoi are improving and might be the prelude to full normalisation.

[A brief summary of past contacts]

Cardinal Sepe’s trip came in the wake of the Vietnamese government’s decision to accept the creation of the new diocese of Ba Ria. During that same trip, the prelate was able to ordain 57 new priests in Hanoi.

Upon his return from a mission to Vietnam in May 2004, Mgr Pietro Parolin, undersecretary of the Section for Relations with States at the Vatican Secretariat of State, said “how on more than one occasion the Vietnamese side stressed its intention to put the past behind and look forward to the future with confidence”.

In terms of the Vatican-Vietnam relationship, “the deeply felt condolences to the Vatican, the world’s Catholic community and Vietnam’s Catholic faithful” which the government of Vietnam expressed in a note sent by then Prime Minister Pham Van Khai to the secretary of state, Angelo Cardinal Sodano, upon the death of John Paul I was a significant step.

On that occasion, the authorities allowed Hanoi Cathedral to set up a maxi screen to give people an opportunity follow the Pope’s funeral ceremony.

The Vietnamese government’s current attitude towards the Catholic Church is closely linked to its belief that the Church can play an important role in helping the poor and the disabled and in running kindergarten and health facilities, which are all theoretical still government prerogatives.

Similarly, the role the Church can play in revitalising the country’s soul at a time of problems related to the rush for riches and corruption is valued positively.

Last but not least, Vietnam’s successful bid to join the World Trade Organisation was partly dependent on its ability to improve the country’s human rights situation, including its ability to guarantee freedom of religion. (FP)

Vietnam is what the People's Republic of China could be if it wasn't so paranoid about keeping its people in check. This visit will be an important part of the Asian strategy, particularly with the growing importance of the Vietnamese diaspora in places like the US in providing priests. Regularizing relations with the home country further solidifies that community's presence. The terms of any agreements will be interesting to read.