Vietnam

The President of the National Assembly in Hanoi presented the Pope with a letter from the President, who is now firmly at the helm of power in Vietnam. It was precisely internal disagreements over the local political balance of power that had slowed down the preparations for the visit, which is so eagerly awaited by the Catholic community. Cardinal Parolin is due to visit soon to establish full diplomatic relations. The possibility of 2027, when the Pope is already expected in Seoul for World Youth Day.

The funeral of the cardinal, who led the Church in Saigon from 1998 to 2014 and passed away on Sunday at the age of 93, took place today. Mons. Peter Van Kham, who served as his auxiliary bishop, recalls: "He always placed his trust in the Lord. And he knew how to involve everyone in the mission of making Christ’s love ever more widely known.”

A conference in Rome looked at the 1,001 messages the cardinal wrote while imprisoned in Vietnam. They were brought to his family, who had found refuge in Australia, hand-copied by people who later escaped by boat. Declared venerable by Francis in 2017, the cardinal was an extraordinary example of meekness and love for Christ. For Cardinal Tagle: "There was no trace of bitterness or hatred in him." His sister Élisabeth was present; she co-authored a new biography that was published recently.

The decade-long restoration of Notre Dame has been completed. The installation coincides with the feast of St. Joseph. For Bishop Zalewski, they are “a sign of faith placed in the heart of the city.” Last year, over 200 churches, ecclesiastical buildings, and other structures related to pastoral work were constructed nationwide.

This Sunday, 73.5 million voters will be called to pick 500 representatives out of 864 candidates rigorously selected by the Communist Party of Vietnam. The vote is another key step after the Congress to consolidate Tô Lâm's leadership.

A delegation from UNIAPAC, which brings together 45,000 entrepreneurs from around the world in the name of the Church's social teaching, is meeting with Catholic colleagues from Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam to establish new contacts. The goal is to develop businesses that put people, not profit, at the centre, in places where GDP growth too often fails to address inequality.

An investigation has been launched into a warehouse accused of producing powder mixed with soybeans in Lam Dong province. The product is destined for the domestic market. Vietnam is a leader in exports of the Robusta variety, which is experiencing a boom in sales on international markets: in the first 15 days of 2026 alone, there was an increase of over 20% in sales volumes.

The 180-member Central Committee has unanimously re-elected Tô Lâm as party general secretary until 2031. The alliance with the military has been strengthened to support economic and administrative reforms. Both current Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính and President Lương Cường were left out of the Politburo. Making Tô Lâm head of state, like Xi Jinping in China, is in the works.

The Vietnamese leader pledged support for joint efforts to bring peace to Gaza. He promised to work closely with his country’s former enemy in various areas in line with both sides' needs and priorities. Among Central Asian countries, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan have joined the new body.

From 19 January, the 14th Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam will decide the country's leadership until 2031. General Secretary To Lam arrives at the event on the back of strong economic results achieved in 2025, so further centralisation of power is expected after the anti-corruption campaign that eliminated several political opponents. But the Party has several options available to make the country's administration more efficient.

Some 15,000 people gathered in Hanoi at the shrine of the Vietnamese martyrs to celebrate the conclusion of a Holy Year marked by more than a thousand pilgrimages. Celebrations were also held in dioceses in mainland China. In Japan, Cardinal Kikuchi addressed the Church of Tokyo: "May the flame of hope never be extinguished.”

The death toll from recent floods has topped 1,300, while 1.2 million people have been displaced in Indonesia alone. The insurance coverage gap is widening, as experts note that increasingly frequent extreme events threaten to make current models unsustainable. Insurance companies are preparing to exclude some natural risks, while most losses in developing countries remain uninsured.