Communists agree to return old nunciature

Al lbI( round-the-clock prayer vigils and protests on the grounds of the former apostolic nunciature in Hanoi, Vietnamese authorities have decided to return the building to the Catholic Church.
City officials said the government would return the former mmciature, which the Communist government confiscated in 1959, after the Vietnamese lunar New Year celebrations this week. Civil authorities decided to let the Church have the building "to show good will and respect toward the Pope".
The announcement of the breakthrough came a day after the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone. sent a letter to Archbishop Joseph Ngo Quartg Kiet of Hanoi.
The letter said Pope Benedict XVI was "constantly informed of the development of the situation" in Hanoi and that the Vatican, as always, would "not fail to explain to your country's government the legitimate aspirations of Vietnamese Catholics".
The cardinal also appealed to the archbishop to intervene and discourage the faithful from staging any more protests, "so that acts which could disrupt public order could be avoided and that the situation return to normal-.
"It will thus be possible, in a calmer atmosphere, to resume dialogue with the authorities in order to find an appropriate solution to this delicate problem," said the letter, written in French.