A ceremony to
close the Catholic Church of Vietnam Jubilee Year 2010 was held at the La Vang
parish, Hai Lang district, in the central province of Quang Tri on January 5.

Photo: VOV

Addressing the ceremony, Deputy
Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan stressed the significance of the successful
organisation of the jubilee year closing ceremony at the La Vang Parish, which
affirmed the strength of the Catholic Church in Vietnam as well as the policy of
respecting religious freedom of the Vietnamese Party and State.

“This shows the world the concord
between religions and the nation in Vietnam,” he said.
The State of Vietnam always respects and ensures the people’s right to freedom
of belief and religions, the Deputy PM said, affirming this is a consistent
policy to meet the legitimate right and interest of believers and different
religions.

The State of Vietnam highly valued
Pope Benedict XVI’s teaching while meeting with a delegation of the Vietnam
Bishop Council in 2009, Deputy PM Nhan said.

The closing ceremony of Jubilee Year
2010 is a major activity of the Catholic Church of Vietnam, drawing the
participation of dignitaries and followers nationwide and representatives from
the Catholic churches of France, the US, the Philippines, Malaysia, Italy, the
Republic of Korea and Canada.

Prominent among those was Cardinal
Ivan Dias, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

The Jubilee Year 2010 was held to
celebrate the 50th founding anniversary the Vietnamese Hierarchy and the 350th
anniversary of establishing the two Apostolic Vicariates. The year-long event
began with an opening ceremony at the So Kien parish in the northern province of
Ha Nam on November 24, 2009. It was followed by the Congress of God’s People at
the Pastoral Centre in Ho Chi Minh City in November 2010. The closing ceremony
was held at La Vang, a place of pilgrimage of the Catholic Church of Vietnam.

The ceremony will end on January 6
with a ritual to place the first stone to build the La Vang basilica.

VietNamNet/VOV