Vietnam Approves Appointment of New Cardinal

Jean-Baptiste Cardinal Pham Minh Mân

Function: Archbishop of Thành-Phô Hô Chí Minh, Viêt Nam

Title: Cardinal Priest of St Justin

Birthdate: Jan 01, 1934	Country: Vietnam

Elevated: Oct 21, 2003	More information: www.catholic-hierarchy.org

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Vietnam Approves Appointment of New Cardinal
Sept 18, 2004
The Vietnamese government has welcomed the appointment by the Vatican of a Ho Chi Minh City archbishop as a cardinal.

(Source unknown, 2 October 2003) A Foreign Ministry spokesman, Le Dung, has praised the elevation of Jean-Baptiste Pham Minh Man to the elite ranks of the Catholic Church.

Archbishop Man was one of 31 new cardinals named by Pope John Paul II on Sunday.

Earlier this week several media reports said the government had rejected the appointment because it was decided unilaterally by the Vatican without Hanoi's approval.

However, Archbishop Man denied the reports on Wednesday after a meeting with the Government Committee on Religion - the government's highest religious authority.

The Foreign Ministry says the relationship between Vietnam and the Vatican is showing progress, and says the respect and mutual understanding between the two is increasing.

Vietnam has Asia's second largest Catholic congregation after the Philippines, with as many as 8 million believers.

Relations between Vietnam and the Vatican have been tense ever since the Catholic-dominated South Vietnamese regime fell to communist forces in April 1975.

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