Vatican Makes Some Progress in Vietnam

FIDES, June 18 — A Vatican delegation gained approval for three bishops from Vietnam's Communist government, the Vatican's missionary news service reported.

Three other bishops proposed by the Vatican were rejected by the Hanoi government at the close of the Vatican delegation's six-day visit, and further negotiations will not take place until later. A year ago, a visit by the same Vatican officials met with an even frostier response, so the announcement of agreement on the bishops is a sign of easing tensions.

Vietnam is home to 8 million Catholics, the largest Catholic community in Southeast Asia outside the Philippines. But Hanoi insists on having the final veto on any religious appointments, and last month, a Catholic priest who fought for religious and political freedom was arrested. Fides reported that Buddhists and Protestants were also targets of government hostility.

Pope Praises ‘Conscientious Objectors'

ASSOCIATED PRESS, June 18 — Pope John Paul II told a group of Catholic gynecologists and obstetricians that the use of medical technology increasingly clashes with morality, the wire service reported.

The Pope cited contraceptive and abortive drugs, the production of embryos as part of in vitro fertilization, the use of embryonic stem cells to grow tissue for transplants, and cloning. He urged all, especially law-makers, to respect the decisions of doctors who refuse to participate in such practices. He suggested “conscientious objection,” refusal to perform immoral acts, as a middle way for doctors who feel trapped in a situation where they must act wrongly or leave the medical field.

In Ukraine, Pope Gets Run of the City

REUTERS, June 22 — When Pope John Paul visited Lviv in western Ukraine, he was greeted with unusual generosity, the wire service reported.

The town fathers of Lviv, a major Catholic center, granted the Pope the freedom of the city, meaning that he had a rent-free apartment and free use of all public transport. Senior town council official Igor Mykytyn said, “Only six people have this right and we are happy that Pope John Paul II is among them.” The Pope traveled to Lviv after three days in the capital, Kiev.

U.N. Clash Over AIDS Document

ASSOCIATED PRESS, June 20 — On the eve of a major U.N. conference on the AIDS epidemic, some members objected to language that they saw as endorsing immoral practices, the wire service reported.

The conference brought more than 3,000 government officials, activists and business leaders to the United Nations. A draft document mapping out a campaign against AIDS singles out vulnerable groups, including homosexual men, prostitutes and their clients, and intravenous drug users. Muslim nations, the Vatican and the United States objected to this singling out.