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Pope Francis appointed Archbishop Marek Zalewski (in photo) as the first resident pontifical representative, nearly half a century after Vietnam severed ties with the Vatican following the communist takeover of the south of the country in 1975.
Vietnam’s first Catholic university is no longer a mirage. It is very soon going to become a reality. In fact, according to Paul Bui Van Doc, Archbishop of Ho Chi Minh City, the structure could be ready within a year. It is going to mark a crucial turning point in the history of the Vietnamese Catholic Church, the sign of an eagerly awaited return to the freedom of education, which the communist government has denied the people for 60 years.
Sex workers in Vietnam are struggling to figure out their next steps after the government’s decision earlier this year to release them from compulsory detention centers that have been widely condemned for alleged human rights abuses. Until recently, women aged 16–55 caught selling sex were sent to these “rehabilitation” centers where they were detained for up to 18 months without due process, and required to take classes and receive vocational training. But detention has done little to prepare these workers for a life off the streets, they said. What was the legal change? In a move to what it calls “voluntary rehabilitation,” the National Assembly passed the Law on Administrative Sanctions in June, which requires authorities to release all women detained on sex work charges by July 2, 2013.
