Pres. Bush visits Catholic Church in Hanoi 

Hanoi, Nov. 20 (www.CWNews.com)   -   President George W. Bush attended Sunday Mass at a Catholic Church in Hanoi on November 19, just a few days after the US government had removed Vietnam from an official list of the countries most hostile to religious freedom.

President Bush and his wife Laura sat quietly through an ecumenical prayer service at the Cua Bac parish church, which was chosen because the neighboring Protestant church was too small to accommodate the congregation. The American leader did not speak during the ecumenical service, nor did he receive Communion at the Mass that followed.

After the liturgical celebration, President Bush praised the "simplicity and beauty" of the Vietnamese ceremony, and thanked the Catholic parish for its hospitality.

Raising the issue of religious freedom, the President said, "there's no more basic freedom than the freedom to worship as you see fit."