Secretary of State John Kerry’s December trip to Vietnam was meant to improve relations and urge greater protection of human rights in a country that climbed three spots on a list of the world’s worst persecutors of Christians.
Kerry attended Mass in Ho Chi Minh City, a move faith-based adviser Shaun Casey called a step “beyond rhetoric to highlight religious freedom.”
Life Without Limbs evangelist Nick Vujicic’s visit seven months earlier was even more notable, said Reg Reimer, former missionary and longtime advocate for religious freedom in Vietnam.
Vujicic took the stage before more than 60,000 Vietnamese in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, sparking hope that the Communist country may be easing its religious restrictions.
“Nick’s visit was a bright spot in Vietnam’s long, dreary, turn toward a better way of treating religions,” Reimer said.
The visit indicated that some in the Vietnamese government are comfortable with foreigners publicly sharing their faith, said Institute for Global Engagement (IGE) president Chris Seiple. “It is also in Vietnam’s self-interest to be known as open to such things.”
It is encouragement sorely needed. Vietnam’s Decree 92, which went into effect in January 2013 and was meant to clarify earlier laws, allows religious groups to legally register. But before they can preach, perform sacraments, or choose their own leaders, they must have worshiped for 20 years without disturbing the government.
Read more at http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2014/april/vietnam-is-getting-better-and-worse.html