HOLY SEE/VIETNAM: CHURCH LAND DISPUTE

C O N F I D E N T I A L VATICAN 000020 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 1/31/2018 TAGS: PREL KIRF PHUM PGOV VM VT SUBJECT: HOLY SEE/VIETNAM: CHURCH LAND DISPUTE REF: Hanoi 097 CLASSIFIED BY: Christopher Sandrolini, Charge d'affaires, EXEC, State. REASON: 1.4 (d) ¶1. (SBU) During a January 31 meeting on another subject, Holy See deputy FM Parolin raised Vietnam land dispute (reftel) with charge d'affaires. Parolin expressed great interest in the situation and asked us to keep him informed of any news we might receive about it. He confirmed that the Holy See is in direct contact with the GoVN (via the Vietnamese Embassy to Italy). Parolin agreed that encouraging signals had been sent by the authorities recently about the possibility of returning the disputed property to the Church, but he did not comment on what guidance, if any, the Holy See may have provided to the Archbishop of Hanoi on this matter. He hoped the government would not resort to violence against the demonstrators, so Embassy Hanoi's dip note on this matter is very welcome. ¶2. (SBU) Post would welcome any additional information from Embassy Hanoi as this situation develops. SANDROLINI