Bush Spreads Gospel of Religious Freedom

Dressed in traditional "ao dai," U.S. President George W. Bush, center, Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet, left, and Chinese President Hu Jintao share a light moment prior to the joint declaration of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit is delivered in Hanoi Sunday, Nov. 19, 2006. (AP Photo/Hoang Dinh Nam, Pool) (Hoang Dinh Nam - AP)

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.

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Bush beamed in baby blue. So did Chinese President Hu Jintao. Russian President Vladimir Putin, too.

Diplomacy over, world leaders faced one final, inescapable task at the end of their annual summit _ donning the host country's costume.