Roman Catholic congress being held in Vietnam

A Congress of the Catholic Church in Vietnam, last held in 1993, is taking place in Hanoi today.

About three-hundred and fifty Vietnamese Roman Catholics, including more than one-hundred priests, are expected to meet under the auspices of the Fatherland Front,a Communist party organisation which controls social and religious groups in Vietnam.

Tension between the Church and the government erupted into violent protests earlier this year over land rights.

Correspondents say it's unlikely the Congress will be able to resolve the tensions between the Church and the Vietnamese authorities. (The Vietnamese Catholic population of about seven million is the second largest in Asia,

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service