| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
_WORLD WATCH______________________________
________________Vietnam_______________
Few concessions on religious freedom
No movement toward diplomatic relations
After a diplomatic mission to Vietnam in June, a Vatican delegation returned virtually empty-handed, having secured a few small concessions—including the long-overdue approval of three episcopal appointments—from the Communist government.
The Vatican delegation, led by Archbishop Celestino Migliore, had been in Vietnam from June 11 to 17, meeting with government leaders as well as Vietnamese bishops. The Holy See has been sending delegations to Vietnam on an annual basis recently, seeking to establish greater freedom for the Church in that country. However, a priest in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly known as Saigon) told the Fides news service that despite the negotiations, the status of religious freedom in Vietnam is essentially “zero.”
The Vietnamese government strictly controls the appointment of bishops, entry of young men into the seminaries, and pastoral assignments of Catholic priests. In all these areas, the government has severely restricted the activities of the Church. The appointment of bishops is a matter of urgency for the Vatican negotiators, since stalling by the government has led to vacancies in some dioceses, while other dioceses are still headed by elderly and frail bishops.
Fides reported that the government had agreed to accept the appointment of three bishops, rejected one other, and promised a later reply on three other nominations. The government approved a bishop for the Bui Chi diocese (whose previous bishop died two years ago), an auxiliary bishop for Ho Chi Minh City (where the only current auxiliary is seriously ill), and a coadjutor bishop for Phan Thiet. The government reportedly gave no immediate answer to Vatican plans for new bishops in Hanoi, Hung Hoa, and Haiphong.
Finally, Fides reported that the government had rejected Vatican plans to make Bishop Paul Nguyên Van Hóa the Archbishop of Hanoi. The current archbishop, Cardinal Joseph Pham D́nh Tung is now 82 years old. For several years the Holy See has been proposing Bishop Nguyên Van Hóa, who now heads the Nha Trang diocese; the government has repeatedly refused to accept that appointment. This year, according to the Fides report, the Holy See proposed another solution: the appointment of a coadjutor bishop for Hanoi, who would succeed as archbishop on the death of the cardinal. This was one of the nominations to which the government did not respond.
On another front—the possibility of establishing formal diplomatic relations with the Holy See—the Vietnamese government has been equally evasive. More than two years have passed since a Vatican delegation raised that possibility, and the Hanoi government promised to “examine the matter.” Since that time there has been no apparent progress.
The visit to Hanoi by the Vatican delegation this year was postponed after a change in leadership within the Communist government. The April election of a new secretary general, Nong Duc Manh, gave rise to some hope for progress toward religious freedom, since the new leader had a reputation as a reformer. But the recent arrests of two prominent religious leaders: the Catholic Father Thaddeus Nguyên Van Ly and the Buddhist monk Thich Quang Do, demonstrated that there had been no dramatic change.
Fides sources indicate that the negotiations between Rome and Hanoi followed a similar pattern. This year’s round of meetings was marked by “more smiles, and less coldness,” Fides reported. However, a priest in Ho Chi Minh City said: “This is their tactic: drop by drop, concession by concession. The government accepts a few appointments, but real freedom is zero.”
Church, parish land confiscated
Government wants property for museum
Vietnam’s government has ordered the confiscation and destruction of a Catholic church to make way for a museum, according to a report from the rights group Free Vietnam Alliance.
In mid-June, the pastor of Thanh Quang parish near Dà Nang city received a letter ordering him to turn over the church and adjacent land by June 25. Months earlier, the pastor, Father Nguyên Huu Long, and Archbishop Nguyên B́nh Tinh of Dà Nang had been repeatedly ordered to appear before authorities, who demanded transfer of ownership, which they refused.
On the day of the deadline, four priests in the surrounding parishes jointly celebrated Mass with thousands of parishioners of Thanh Quang. Facing such a crowd, the Public Security agents decided not to take actions, but instead took pictures and video of the participants—probably in an effort to intimidate them.
On June 29, government officials again summoned Father Long and demanded an immediate surrender of the properties. Father Long said he did not have the authority to do so and the decision rested with the parishioners and the bishop. He also handed the government a letter, signed by over 200 representatives of the parishioners, refusing to relinquish their church. As of the end of June, the phone line to the parish had been cut off, in a move that the Free Vietnam Alliance feared was a sign of imminent use of force by the government. No further reports on the situation were available as CWR went to press.
Back to Catholic World Report August/September 2001 Table of Contents