January 22, 2013. (Romereports.com) (-ONLY VIDEO-) Benedict XVI welcomed the leader for the
Communist Party in Vietnam for an audience on Tuesday morning, an honor usually reserved for heads of state and not party leaders.
The audience between the Pope and Secretary General
Nguyen Phu Trong
comes amidst talks between the Holy See and officially-atheist Vietnam
to establish full diplomatic relations.
Following their encounter, the Communist leader also met with the Vatican's top diplomat,
Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone.Trong's visit to the Vatican is the fourth by a high ranking Vietnamese official since 2007. Before then, the Vatican had broken off relations with that Asian country following
the fall of Saigon in 1973.
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