AP/News :Pope Sends Well-Wishes to Vietnam

[bich dao <daotb@yahoo.com>]

AUGUST 09, 22:15 EDT

 Pope Sends Well-Wishes to Vietnam 


 VATICAN CITY (AP) ^× Pope John Paul II has sent well-wishes to the
people of
 Vietnam, but the greetings made no mention of a hoped-for visit to the
 communist-led country. 

 The Vatican on Monday released the text of the pope's message for this
week's
 celebration of the 200th anniversary of the apparition of the Virgin
Mary in La
 Vang, Vietnam. 

 Vatican Radio reported that hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese
faithful were
 gathering for the commemoration, which runs from Aug. 13 through 15. 

 Vietnam and the Vatican do not have diplomatic ties, and relations
between the
 two sides have been tense over Hanoi's insistence it have final say
over religious
 appointments, such as the naming of bishops. 

 There has been talk that Vietnam might be a stop on an expected papal
trip to Asia
 this fall, but nothing firm has developed, and no itinerary has been
announced. 

 The pope, in his message to the Vietnamese Catholics, expressed hope
that the
 pilgrims would pray that God ``instill in the hearts of all men,
sentiments of
 peace, brotherhood and solidarity, so that all Vietnamese unite toward
the end of
 constructing a world where one can live well, based on essential
spiritual and
 moral values ....'' 

----------------
AUGUST 09, 14:11 EDT

   Pope Will Not Visit Hong Kong 

   HONG KONG (AP) ^× The Chinese government
   has ruled out a possible visit to Hong Kong by
   Pope John Paul II, church officials said Monday. 

   The reason for the decision was unclear, with
   some church officials blaming the Vatican's
   diplomatic ties with Taiwan and others pointing to
   China's tight restrictions on religious practices. 

   ``Officially, we have not heard any explanation
   from Rome at all,'' said Mary Seung, a
   spokeswoman for the Catholic Diocese of Hong
   Kong. She added that Hong Kong was just one of several
   proposed destinations. The itinerary has not yet be finalized. 

   In Beijing, China's Foreign Ministry said the visit would be a
   ``complicated issue'' because the Vatican maintains diplomatic
   relations with Taiwan. 

                          Although Hong Kong was granted a high
                          degree of autonomy after the end of
                          British colonial rule in 1997, China retains
                          control of the territory's defense and
                          foreign affairs. 

                          The South China Morning Post said
                          Vatican officials lobbying for a papal visit
                          to Hong Kong were ``rebuffed by
                          mainland officials'' over the Taiwan ties. 

   The Vatican's press office declined comment. 

   But later, the news agency of the Vatican's missionary branch
   said the real issue was not Taiwan, but religious freedom. 

   ``From this point of view, it should be pointed out that there isn't
   any formal refusal by China, given there hasn't been even a
   formal request. But it's true that China blocked the possibility of
   the trip,'' the agency, Fides, said. 

   Noting that Beijing raised the issue of Taiwan, Fides added: ``But
   as it often appears in Chinese-Vatican dialogue, the problem of
   Taiwan is only a shield that hides problems of religious freedom.'' 

   China's communist government forced Catholics to sever ties with
   the Vatican and put their churches under the Patriotic Association
   in the 1950s. Overseas monitoring groups report that
   underground Catholics in China are frequently arrested. 

   Fides quoted unidentified church sources in Hong Kong, who
   followed the negotiations, as saying: ``China wanted to pull all
   the strings for the papal ceremonies, with the risk of having the
   pope wind up celebrating with Patriotic (church) bishops who
   have no ties with the Holy See.'' 

   Hong Kong Catholic officials said they were not surprised that the
   pope will not be visiting. 

   ``There's a tremendous amount of disappointment, but I would
   say it wasn't an entirely unexpected turn of events,'' said the
   Rev. Peter Robb, a Catholic priest. 

   He said the lack of formal ties between the Vatican and Beijing
   would have made it awkward to try to work out the official
   invitations necessary for a papal visit. 

   The Catholic Church has about 370,000 members in Hong Kong. 

   China regards Taiwan as a renegade province and has not ruled
   out force to reclaim it. The Nationalist Chinese government fled
   to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war on the mainland. 

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