Back in Hanoi ahead of schedule, Archbishop Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet had left the Vietnamese capital on 4 March to undergo medical treatment in Rome, invited by the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and the Pontifical Council Cor Unum.Upon his departure, the same prelate spoke of an absence of a couple of months.
His return on April 9, was announced in a post on the Archdiocese website, but no explanation was given on the shortened absence of Mgr. Kiet.
In the days leading up to his return, Eglises d'Asie, had reported the archbishop had arrived in Paris, where he said he had recovered strength and was on the road to recovery.
Mgr. Kiet’s departure for Rome was accompanied by mounting rumours about a possible departure from Hanoi, repeatedly requested by local authorities following controversy over the former apostolic delegation, the parish of Tai Ha and, most recently, the destruction of the cross Dong Chiem .
These clashes with the authorities and the attacks – from a venomous media campaign to a police "siege" of the archdiocese - distressed Mgr. Kiet, to the point he was suffering from chronic insomnia.
Rumours on the removal of the archbishop of Hanoi had gathered pace in recent days in connection with the meeting of the Episcopal Conference, which considered the issue.
The Bishops however denied the rumours.
Mgr. Kiet himself, to whom priests and faithful are very close, may be the one to clarify the situation, sooner rather than later.
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