Bush spreads gospel of religious freedom

HANOI, Vietnam — Though no sermon was delivered Sunday in the church where President Bush took a "moment to converse with God," he offered his own precept outside.

"A whole society is a society which welcomes basic freedoms," Bush said, adding that there's none more basic than "the freedom to worship as you see fit."

Bush and his wife, Laura, visited Cua Bac Church, a Catholic basilica on a tree-lined street in the diplomatic district, to show support for Vietnam's faithful, who live under a government that tightly controls religious institutions.

"It's our way of expressing our personal faith and at the same time urging societies to feel comfortable with and confident in saying to their people, 'If you feel like praising God, you're allowed to do so in any way you see fit,"' said Bush, on his first visit to communist Vietnam to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.

Music dominated the Vietnamese-language ecumenical service. English-speaking parishioners understood a few words, including "Amen" and "alleluia."

Just this month, the United States removed Vietnam from a list of the world's worst violators of religious freedom.

But human rights groups say restrictions remain.

Nguyen Quoc Khanh, the priest at Cua Bac Church, reported that Bush said nothing during the service.

"We all had a silent dialogue with God," Khanh said.