VIETNAM: Interview du cardinal archevêque de Saigon
Dec 19, 2009
VietCatholic News (09 Dec 2009 11:14)
NDLR: La veille de la visite du chef de l’Etat vietnamien au Souverain Pontife, Paolo Affatalo, de Fides, l’agence d’information de la Congrégation pour l’évangélisation des peuples, a posé quatre questions à Mgr Pham Minh Mân, cardinal-archevêque de Saigon, sur cet événement et sur de la situation de l’Eglise dans son pays. Le cardinal a transmis le texte vietnamien de ses réponses à l’agence VietCatholic News, qui l’a publié le 8 décembre 2009. C’est ce texte que la rédaction d’Eglises d’Asie a traduit en français. L’interview se référant à un rapport sur le diocèse, rédigé à l’occasion de la récente visite ad limina des évêques vietnamiens à Rome, nous l’avons également traduit en annexe.
Texte de l'interview:
Fides: Quels sont vos espoirs et vos impressions au sujet de la rencontre du président du Vietnam avec le pape ?
Cardinal Pham Minh Mân: En ces temps de mondialisation, le monde s’est rétréci pour se transformer en village dans lequel les nations sont devenues des familles vivant tout près les unes des autres. Selon la tradition culturelle du Vietnam, les familles entre elles ont un comportement inspiré par les sentiments propres au village. Ce que je remarque, c’est que le Vatican et le Vietnam semblent avoir la volonté de construire des relations de ce type. J’espère que la situation actuelle, qui comporte des avantages pour les deux parties, fera naître des rapports de ce genre.
Quelles sont les principales questions qui seront discutées ?
Je pense que, dans n’importe quelle relation, il peut y avoir des points de désaccord. Mais je souhaite qu’à travers le dialogue, dans le respect mutuel et dans la recherche de la vérité, peu à peu, les deux parties se comprennent mieux et, ensemble, surmontent les désaccords, dans un esprit de concorde villageoise. Le 4 décembre dernier, j’ai fait diffuser un document relatif à l’encyclique du pape Benoît XVI Caritas in Veritate.
Qu’attend la communauté catholique au Vietnam de cette rencontre ?
La communauté catholique au Vietnam, d’une façon générale, espère que les chefs de famille dans le village du monde « mondialisé » sympathisent davantage les uns avec les autres, et, ensemble, qu’ils fassent régner un climat de concorde dans les familles du village, qu’ils unissent leurs forces pour assurer aux familles un développement intégral et qu’ils fassent en sorte que le village devienne une communauté humaine nouvelle vivant dans la vérité et l’amour, dans la justice et la paix.
Quelle est la situation de l’Eglise au Vietnam aujourd’hui ?
Après la visite ad limina à la fin du mois de juin dernier, conformément au conseil du Saint Père dans son allocution aux évêques, j’ai noté un certain nombre de traits de l’image du diocèse de Hô Chi Minh-Ville aujourd’hui. Pour une part, ces notes expriment aussi la réalité de la situation de l’Eglise au Vietnam (voir le document ci-après).
Document annexe
Trente ans vécus par l’Eglise dans l’environnement social du Vietnam
L’année 1975 est l’époque où le régime politique du Vietnam a changé. Ce changement a fait disparaître l’ancien cadre culturel, social, économique et politique et a entraîné de nombreuses difficultés et limites pour l’Eglise catholique au Vietnam. Il faut ajouter à cela que, pendant plus de dix ans, le pays a fermé ses portes. Les relations avec le monde et les liens de communion avec l’Eglise universelle ont été, pour ainsi dire, coupés.
Pour ce qui le concerne, l’archevêché de Saigon a changé de nom, devenant l’archevêché de Hô Chi Minh-Ville. Cela s’est traduit par un certain nombre de conséquences fâcheuses:
1.) Concernant les effectifs: le nombre de prêtres est passé de 414 à 226, celui des fidèles de 516 000 à 387 184.
2.) Concernant les établissements éducatifs, médicaux, caritatifs et humanitaires, 400 d’entre eux ont disparu. Ainsi, il n’y a plus eu d’écoles catholiques, qui ont été des lieux d’enseignement de la doctrine, d’éducation de la foi pour la jeunesse. Ont disparu également les établissements hospitaliers et les centres caritatifs et humanitaires catholiques. Les organisations assurant des activités de ce type ont été dissoutes. Seuls sont demeurés les établissements de culte.
Cependant, pour cette raison, la pastorale dans le diocèse s’est concentrée sur le centre et le sommet de la vie chrétienne, à savoir sur le Seigneur Jésus dans son dans son Eucharistie et sur la Parole de Dieu. Ainsi, la paroisse est devenue la famille du Seigneur. Le Seigneur y est le père de tous les fidèles, qui, ayant un même père, sont frères et sœurs, unis par un même baptême, une même foi, une même espérance et un même amour.
C’est aussi pour la même raison que les familles, les communautés de croyants ont consacré beaucoup plus de temps à la prière de communion avec le Seigneur, à la charité et à la solidarité fraternelle dans la famille comme dans les communautés de croyants: les paroisses, les congrégations, … Chacun a eu ainsi beaucoup plus d’occasions de vivre et de grandir dans la vérité et l’amour salvifique du Christ. La communauté diocésaine comme la paroisse sont devenues, tous les jours davantage, le levain et la lumière évangélique dans le nouvel environnement. L’humilité de ces témoins de l’Evangile a peu à peu changé le regard porté sur l’Eglise par de nombreuses personnes de la société. L’Eglise, qui était jusqu’ici regardée de l’extérieur, considérée comme hostile, est devenue une organisation capable de contribuer au service du peuple et au développement du pays.
Le Seigneur a accordé à l’Eglise la grâce de vivre dans l’environnement du Vietnam d’aujourd’hui
Le Seigneur coopère avec le peuple de Dieu. Ainsi, il jette en lui de nombreuses semences de grâce salvifique, les semences de la foi, les semences des vocations sacerdotales et religieuses.
- Aujourd’hui, le diocèse comporte 200 paroisses, avec 5 289 membres de conseils paroissiaux, 6 254 catéchistes volontaires, 900 chorales, 25 associations apostoliques laïques dont les membres dépassent le chiffre de 90 000. 90 % des catholiques participent à la messe dominicale. 100 % des enfants suivent les cours de catéchisme jusqu’après la confirmation.
- Le grand séminaire comporte 180 étudiants appartenant à trois diocèses. Notre diocèse possède également une classe de propédeutique avec 300 aspirants au grand séminaire.
- Dans le diocèse sont implantés 85 congrégations, instituts religieux et instituts séculiers. Les communautés religieuses rassemblent au total 5 047 religieux et religieuses. Plusieurs centaines d’entre eux sont formés où étudient à l’étranger. Plusieurs centaines d’autres sont en mission dans 46 pays des cinq continents.
- Il faut ajouter à cela, les 50 congrégations et un certain nombre de diocèses d’Europe, d’Amérique, d’Afrique et d’Australie venus dans l’archidiocèse pour y chercher des vocations.
- Jusqu’à présent, progressivement, notre diocèse a ouvert 190 établissements tels que des jardins d’enfants, des « classes de l’affection », des écoles professionnelles, des établissements caritatifs et humanitaires, qui s’efforcent de répondre aux besoins de développement du pays et, en même temps, de surmonter les conséquences néfastes du développement social.
- Le peuple de Dieu prend soin et contribue à la croissance des semences de grâce salvifique, afin qu’elles fleurissent et portent du fruit.
Dans son amour, le Seigneur a accordé aux familles catholiques et aux communautés de croyants de devenir des parcelles de terre fertile. Elles ont été entourées de soins et arrosées par la source d’eau vive de la prière et la liturgie sacramentelle des croyants, ainsi que par l’engrais constitué par la vie caritative, le sacrifice et la peine de chacun. Ainsi, les semences de grâce salvifique ont grandi et produit du fruit. Aujourd’hui, conformément aux directives du Saint Père, les familles du diocèse continuent d’entretenir les semences par leurs efforts:
- Elles contribueront à faire grandir le Centre de pastorale et le Centre culturel catholique pour qu’ils deviennent des lieux ouverts qu’ils fassent grandir les connaissances en matière de foi religieuse.
- Elles renforceront leur solidarité pour aider les familles catholiques, les 200 communautés paroissiales, les 300 communautés religieuses, les 12 bureaux de pastorale diocésaine, les 25 associations apostoliques à devenir des écoles d’éducation de la foi, qui la défendent, la protègent, en témoignent et la propagent.
- Elles créeront les conditions pour que chacun prenne conscience qu’il vit dans la vérité et l’amour salvifiques du Christ, et désire contribuer au développement de l’Eglise, de l’homme et du pays, un développement qui soit intégral et juste.
L’expérience de la prière et de l’amour comme service
Grâce au Saint Esprit reçu avec l’amour du Christ et grâce à la persévérance dans la prière à travers toutes les épreuves, saint Paul a pu consacrer sa vie à la mission d’évangélisation et à l’édification de l’Eglise, conformément à la voie d’amour et de service enseignée par le Christ.
1.) « Que, pratiquant la vérité dans la charité, nous croissions à tout égard en Celui qui est le chef, le Christ. » (Eph 4,15). L’amour à la lumière de la foi au Christ: tous les hommes sont fils d’un même père, frères et sœurs dans une même famille. Dans l’histoire de la mission, il y a deux catégories de missionnaires, ceux qui respectent la culture locale, comme Matteo Ricci, et d’autres qui imposent une culture étrangère. Dans la réalité de la famille et de la société, il y a deux sortes d’amour: l’amour respectueux et l’amour qui impose. L’amour de la patrie nous conduit à découvrir ensemble les orientations et les lignes de force du développement intégral de l’homme et du développement durable de notre pays (voir Caritas in Veritate).
2.) L’amour-service exige l’inculturation, le dialogue, la collaboration.
L’inculturation: l’entrée à l’intérieur de la tradition culturelle d’un peuple vise à découvrir les semences de la parole de Dieu dans chacune de ses cultures dans le but de les cultiver pour qu’elles se développent. Ainsi, si les cultures deviendront plus riches.
Le dialogue et la collaboration: leur tradition est profondément ancrée dans les cœurs, les façons de penser et de vivre des hommes et par conséquent des chrétiens. Le concile Vatican II a ouvert une voie nouvelle, le dialogue dans un esprit de charité visant à découvrir la vérité. Il semble que cette orientation nouvelle reste encore étrangère à de nombreuses personnes car elles ne peuvent concevoir la vérité que comme ce qui correspond à leurs intérêts particuliers et leur apporte des avantages, à elles ou aux groupes dont elles font partie. C’est pourquoi le dialogue et la collaboration sont véritablement difficiles et leurs résultats limités, y compris dans le domaine du service des plus pauvres et des plus démunis ainsi dans celui du développement du pays.
3.) La vie de prière: « Soyez patients dans l’affliction. Persévérez dans la prière » (Rm 12,12): le conseil du cardinal Glemp, qui a vécu sous trois types de régimes, est: « Soyez persévérants et priez ! » La prière me rend lucide pour reconnaître la volonté de Dieu et sa voie. En même temps, elle nous donne la force d’avancer sur cette voie en toutes circonstances et à travers toutes les épreuves. Il faut être persévérant dans la prière car le changement de l’esprit et du cœur de l’homme est l’ouvrage du Saint Esprit avec la collaboration des hommes de bonne volonté. Il faut persévérer dans la prière comme le Seigneur nous l’enseigne (voir le Notre Père), comme l’Eglise nous l’enseigne (voir les mystères du rosaire), car elle est la source d’eau vive qui fera grandir les semences de la grâce, qui lui donnera sa verdeur, puis ses fleurs et ses fruits.
(Source: Eglises d'Asie, 9 décembre 2009)
Beziehungen Vietnam - Vatikan: Ball liegt bei Hanoi
Jul 21, 2009
Erzbischof von Saigon verweist aber auf positive Entwicklung der Gespräche
21.07.2009
Hanoi, 21.07.2009 (KAP) In der Frage der Wiederaufnahme diplomatischer Beziehungen zwischen dem Heiligen Stuhl und Vietnam liegt der Ball bei der Regierung in Hanoi, der Vatikan sei seit langem bereit. Das sagte der Erzbischof von Saigon, Kardinal Jean-Baptiste Pham Minh Man, nach den Ad-Limina-Besuchen der vietnamesischen Bischöfe in Rom der Nachrichtenagentur "Ucanews".
Die Verhandlungen hätten sich in den vergangenen Jahren positiv entwickelt, so der Kardinal. Im November werde eine Delegation der kommunistischen Regierung den Vatikan besuchen und weitere Schritte beraten.
Im Februar war eine gemeinsame Arbeitsgruppe eingerichtet worden. Ein erstes Treffen in Hanoi fand laut Vatikanmitteilung in einer "Atmosphäre der Offenheit, der Freimütigkeit und des gegenseitigen Respekts" statt. Der stellvertretende vatikanische "Außenminister", Pietro Parolin, leitete die Vatikan-Delegation. Der Heilige Stuhl respektiere die Unabhängigkeit Vietnams, die katholische Kirche unternehme keinerlei politische Aktivitäten, sagte Parolin.
Nach der kommunistischen Machtübernahme 1975 in ganz Vietnam wurden die diplomatischen Beziehungen gekappt, die der südvietnamesische Staat mit dem Heiligen Stuhl unterhalten hatte. Eine Wiederaufnahme diplomatischer Beziehungen ist seit rund zwei Jahren im Gespräch. Mehr als zehn Prozent der vietnamesischen Bevölkerung sind katholisch; die Kultur des Landes wurde stark von der katholischen Kirche mitgeprägt, beispielsweise durch die Einführung des lateinischen Alphabets durch den Jesuiten P. Alexandre de Rhodes im 17. Jahrhundert, das bis heute unter dem Namen "Quoc Ngu" (Nationalsprache) im Gebrauch ist.
Vietnam: Werteverlust in vietnamesischen Familien
Mar 19, 2009
Die Bischöfe sind besorgt über einen Niedergang der Werte in vielen vietnamesischen Familien. Da sich viele Eltern nur noch um das Geldverdienen kümmerten, bleibe immer weniger Zeit, sich um die richtige Erziehung der Kinder zu kümmern. Dabei werde vergessen, dass Wohlstand alleine den Kindern nicht die Eltern ersetzen könne und die Kinder keine Werte mehr vermittelt bekommen. Dies könne in Zukunft negative Auswirkungen auf die ganze Gesellschaft haben. Der Erzbischof von Saigon, Kardinal Pham Minh Man, schreibt in einem Hirtenbrief : „Wenn jede katholische Familie versucht, eine Schule für Werte zu sein, dann leisten wir einen aktiven Beitrag zu einem gesunden Gesellschaftsleben.“ (asianews 10.03.2009 hela)
Noël : Visite aux chrétiens de Hô Chi Minh-Ville
Dec 21, 2008
Hô Chi Minh-Ville (AVI) - Le Comité du PCV, le Conseil populaire, le Comité populaire et le Comité du Front de la Patrie du Vietnam de Ho Chi Minh-Ville ont formé samedi trois délégations pour rendre visite aux dignitaires catholiques et protestants de la ville à l'occasion de Noël.
Lors de sa rencontre avec le cardinal Pham Minh Mân, archevêque de Hô Chi Minh-Ville, Le Thanh Hai, secrétaire du Comité municipal du PCV, a formulé ses voeux de santé et joyeuse fête de Noël. Il a exprimé le souhait de le voir mobiliser les pratiquants à "mener une bonne vie civique et religieuse" et contribuer davantage à l'édification de la ville et du pays.
De son côté, le cardinal Pham Minh Man a émis le souhait que dans les temps à venir, la ville connaîtra de nouveaux changements afin d'améliorer la vie de la population locale dont les catholiques.
Le Hoang Quan, président du Comité populaire municipal, s'est rendu visite au Comité municipal de solidarité catholique, alors que Nguyen Van Dua, secrétaire adjoint permanent du Comité municipal du PCV, est allé formuler les voeux de Noël à l'Association générale de l'Eglise protestante du Vietnam (Sud).
VIETNAM Government Moves Cross And Pieta Statue From Former Nunciature Compound
Sept 26, 2008
The government has moved a cross and a statue from the contested former nunciature site in Ha Noi after thousands of southern Catholics gathered to pray there.
BANGKOK (UCAN, 26 September 2008) -- The government has moved a cross and a statue from the contested former nunciature site in Ha Noi after thousands of southern Catholics gathered to pray there.
On the evening of Sept. 25, according to local Church sources, dozens of unknown persons placed the Pieta replica, the iron cross and candles into three boxes and loaded them onto a truck.
The truck then drove out of the compound leaving local Catholics clueless as to the whereabouts of those religious items, they added.
Catholics had placed the cross and the statue of Mary holding Jesus' lifeless body under a big banyan tree in the compound last December, after thousands gathered there to pray for the government to return the building to the Church.
Now, hundreds of policemen, mobile units and plainclothes security officials have erected iron barriers cordoning off the area. Some security officials are also standing guard along the street.
The sources noted that many aggressive-looking strangers and unidentified young people in blue shirts, commonly worn by Communist youth groups, shouted at local Catholics and Religious praying at the barriers.
They forced the Catholics to move back to the nearby archbishop's residence and lock the gate. While the mob threatened to break down the gate, the Catholics continued to stay calm, sing hymns and pray, sources reported.
Cathedral bells tolled slowly until midnight to alert local Catholics to the incident. Many priests and Catholics from parishes in the capital also rushed to the archbishop's residence and prayed for the local Church even though it was raining and cold, the sources added.
Meanwhile, policemen have also erected iron barriers on roads leading to a disputed site near Redemptorist-run Thai Ha church in Ha Noi's Dong Da district. Catholics there have been engaged in a land dispute with the local government over that site and have been prevented from entering the area. Sources told UCA News the government started building a garden at the site on Sept. 25.
Meanwhile, on Sept. 24, about 7,000 Catholics in Ho Chi Minh City attended a candlelit prayer gathering at Redemptorist-run Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church to pray for justice and peace in the country.
They prayed for the Catholics detained in the Thai Ha parish case, Archbishop Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet of Ha Noi, and all priests, Religious and Catholics in the capital. They also prayed for governmental authorities to respect the truth and resolve issues justly.
Father Vincent Pham Trung Thanh, Redemptorist provincial superior, led the special Mass, and 25 priests including archdiocesan clergy, Dominicans and Franciscans concelebrated.
Beforehand, people watched photos of Catholics praying at the former nunciature and the contested land near Thai Ha church, under the observation of hundreds of policemen.
They also listened to Archbishop Kiet's recorded statement at the meeting between Church leaders and government authorities on Sept. 20 after the government started renovating the former nunciature building for use as a library and building a public flower garden in that compound.
Many people told UCA News the gathering helped them understand the land disputes better. They observed Catholics in the capital prayed peacefully and forgave those who attacked or vilified them.
Earlier, Cardinal Jean Baptiste Pham Minh Man of Ho Chi Minh City also attached the full text of Archbishop Kiet's statement to his Sept. 22 letter to all priests, religious and Catholics in his archdiocese.
Cardinal Man, 74, said many people told him local media quoted some of Archbishop Kiet's words from his statement out of context, which puzzled readers.
The cardinal urged Catholics to beseech God to give peace and lead people to the truth. He also asked them to pray for Vietnam's bishops, who have been attending their annual meeting Sept. 22-26 at the Xuan Loc bishop's residence.
Bishops and priests from Bac Ninh, Ban Me Thuot, Hai Phong, Hung Hoa, Lang Son, Thai Binh, Thanh Hoa and Vinh have expressed solidarity and sent letters to Archbishop Kiet.
Vietnam Cardinal wants dialogue to end dispute with govt.
Sept 14, 2008
The cardinal-archbishop of Ho Chi Minh City has asked local Catholics to pray that northern parishioners, Redemptorists and government officials will be able to resolve a land dispute through dialogue.
HA NOI (UCAN, September 8, 2008) -- Cardinal Jean Baptiste Pham Minh Man reiterated fraternal communion with Thai Ha parish in Dong Da district, Ha Noi, in a letter to all priests, Religious and Catholics in his archdiocese.
"We sincerely ask God and Our Lady of Perpetual Help to offer peace and strength to parishioners, Redemptorists and related parties so they can dialogue frankly to resolve the land dispute in the light of truth, justice and charity," he wrote.
The Sept. 1 letter, which has been posted on church bulletin boards, will be read out during Masses in his archdiocese this weekend. Ho Chi Minh City lies 1,710 kilometers south of Ha Noi.
Cardinal Man, 74, says the Church wants to resolve all social issues through dialogue among involved parties with respect for truth, justice and charity. Truth reflects reality correctly, justice reflects morality and common good, and charity involves loving and serving people, he explains.
The Church leader reveals that many Catholics in the archdiocese told him local media reported the controversy partially, not in a balanced way. Such communication aims to serve the interests of individuals and factions, but not the common good or the country's sustainable development, he notes.
In the letter, he points out that according to Redemptorist provincial superior Father Vincent Pham Trung Thanh, local Redemptorists and the parish have legal papers proving ownership of the controversial plot of land in hand. And no paper exists showing the local Church offered, presented or changed the ownership of the land to any other organizations or legal entities, he adds.
Father Thanh has said local Redemptorists and the parish are determined to seek justice from the government and get back their property in accordance with the country's constitution and international laws the government is committed to respect, the cardinal continues.
The Church leader complains that many items in the latest amendment of the country's land laws are illogical. Government authorities in many places only act on their superiors' orders, do not dialogue with people and do not properly examine land disputes that have gone on for a long time, he adds.
Cardinal Man also warns in his letter that acting just on orders and using power or violence will not resolve problems and only create much injustice and unrest in society.
The archbishop's letter is a reaction to recent incidents surrounding the disputed plot of land.
Last year, a state-run company began building houses for sale on the 14,000-square-meter plot, adjacent to the parish church, but local Catholics protested and forced the work to stop. The company and two other companies use the plot.
Wary that construction might resume, parishioners have gathered to pray outside the controversial plot since Jan. 6. Shifts of young and elderly Catholics stay all day and night in two tents erected outside the site's barbed-wire fence, on which they hang statues of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, crosses and flowers. After daily Mass in the nearby church, they also conduct prayer sessions outside the fence.
Plainclothes police officers have been on duty at the place and follow local Catholics' activities. State-run media have reported on the standoff, accusing the Catholics of violating laws, intending to damage public property and creating public disorder.
On Aug. 31, following evening Mass at the parish church, 2,000 Catholics gathered at the site to pray in front of the Marian statues and crosses. Thirty people, including some children and women, apparently were overcome by tear gas and were carried to the nearby monastery for medical attention.
People then asked policemen, including plainclothes officers who had been hiding in the dark, to file a report on the incident. Only one policeman confirmed that he sprayed tear gas, but he refused to sign any record or statement, sources said.
Earlier in August, hundreds of Catholics from Thai Ha parish occupied the controversial plot of land next to the parish church on Aug. 15, the feast of the Assumption of Mary. They placed crosses and Marian statues. According to local Church sources, district police accused local Catholics of having intended to damage public property and creating public disorder, and arrested four Catholics on Aug. 28.
In Ho Chi Minh City that day, about 3,000 Catholics attended a special evening Mass Father Thanh led with 75 local Redemptorist and Dominican priests concelebrating. Members of 22 Redemptorist communities throughout the country joined the Mass at Redemptorist-run Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church.
Lịch trình chuyến viếng thăm của Đức Hồng Y Phạm Minh Mẫn đến San Jose + Lời kêu gọi của Micae Lê Văn Ấn
Jul 05, 2008
Tòa báo Việt Nam vừa nhận được một thông báo về chuyến viếng thăm của Đức Hồng Y Phạm Minh Mẫn (nguyên văn như sau):
(VNNB, 02/07/2008) Sau đây là thông cáo của linh mục Nguyễn Minh Hiền, Chánh xứ St Patrick, San Jose:
“THÔNG BÁO VỀ CHUYẾN THĂM VIẾNG SAN JOSE CỦA ĐỨC HỒNG Y GIOAN B. PHẠM MINH MẪN.
Tháng vừa qua, Đức Cha Patrick McGrath, Giám Mục Giáo Phận San Jose, báo cho cha Nguyễn Minh Hiền, Đại Diện Giám Mục, đặc trách Mục Vụ Việt Nam, biết là Đức Hồng Y Gioan Baotixita Phạm Minh Mẫn đã liên lạc với ngài. Trong chuyến thăm viếng bà con ở San Jose, Đức Hồng Y có ngõ ý muốn dâng một Thánh lễ tại giáo xứ Việt Nam St Patrick Proto Cathedral và một thánh lễ nữa hoặc tại St Maria Goretti Church (SMG) hoặc tại Most Holy Trinity (MHT).
Sau khi liên lạc với Đức Ông Đỗ Văn Đỉnh (SMG) và Cha Ngô Anh Lân (MHT). Cha Hiền xin thông báo chương trình dâng Thánh Lễ của Đức Hồng Y như sau:
a) tại nhà thờ St Maria Goretti, Thứ Bảy, 5 tháng 7, 2008 lúc 6 giờ 30 chiều; và
b) tại giáo xứ Việt Nam St Patrick Proto-Cathedral, 6 tháng 7, 2008, lúc 8 giờ 45 sáng”.
Xin phổ biến rộng rãi để tất cả giáo dân Việt tị nạn Cộng Sản ở San Jose và vùng phụ cận đến tham dự 2 thánh lễ này.
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Đồng thời tòa báo cũng nhận được lời kêu gọi của ông Micae Lê Văn Ấn (tức Kiêm Ái) kêu gọi mọi người đến đón tiếp đức Hồng Y Phạm Minh Mẫn thật đông đảo với cờ vàng 3 sọc đỏ để nói rõ ý định của đồng bào hải ngoại:
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Đây là vị Đặc Sứ Toàn Quyền Lưu Động vừa Đời vừa Đạo. Đức Hồng Y còn là nhân vật quan trọng gấp mấy 2 tên Việt Cộng Nguyễn Minh Triết và Nguyễn Tấn Dũng. Vì 2 tên này trước khi xuất ngoại chúng chỉ “van xin” người Việt tại hải ngoại đừng biểu tình, đừng đem Cờ Vàng Ba Sọc Đỏ ra dọa chúng. Ngoài ra, chúng luôn luôn phải chui cửa hậu.
Còn Đức Hồng Y thì trước khi ra đi đã ra lệnh cho các nơi tiếp đón không được có cờ Vàng Ba Sọc Đỏ xuất hiện. Ngài không chui cửa hậu mà còn được rước đón một cách long trọng. Chỗ nào có cờ Vàng đã có Tuận phá bỏ trước khi lọt vào mắt Đức Hồng Y.
Hồng hơn Chuyên, nhưng Đức Phạm Minh Mẫn vừa Chuyên vừa Hồng, đỏ hơn Trung Ương Đỏ.
Xin đồng hương tham dự, đón tiếp phải gấp mấy chục lần đón ĐGM Nguyễn Chí Linh.
Micae Lê Văn Ấn.
Kẻ Phản Động đối với Đảng
Phản Đạo Quốc Doanh.
Cardinal urges Vietnamese Catholics in North America to integrate
Jun 26, 2008
As a cardinal from Vietnam began his U.S. tour, he advised Vietnamese Catholics living in North America to integrate with the faithful in their newly adopted country, but remain close to the culture of their homeland and remember its martyrs.
WASHINGTON (CNS, Jun 25, 2008) -- "I tell them, 'You are here, you are not'" refugees anymore, said Cardinal Jean-Baptiste Pham Minh Man of Ho Chi Minh City in English.
"I tell them, 'You should be a witness of faith for the people here,'" Cardinal Man said.
The cardinal, who spoke to Catholic News Service in Washington June 24, discussed his U.S. tour, how he views recent dialogue between the Vatican and the Vietnamese government, and the role Vietnamese Catholics living in North America should have with the church in their homeland.
In the past several years, the cardinal said he has traveled to more than a dozen countries where Vietnamese Catholics now live and routinely encourages them to adapt to their local church communities while remembering Vietnam.
"There is much they can learn when they integrate in the American society and local church and much of that knowledge, experience and enriched faith they can share with the church back home," he said. "It doesn't have to be (giving back) just with money. They can come back ... and show us the good things they've learned."
In the 1970s, Vietnam's communist regime stripped the Catholic Church of its hospitals, schools and much of its property, Cardinal Man said. That makes it nearly impossible for Catholics in Vietnam to participate in charitable causes, he said.
"So, we have to live our faith in other ways," he said. "We live our faith by hope. We need prayer and to be patient."
The hope Cardinal Man said he sees in his country is that the government has opened a dialogue with the Vatican about the possibility of the state giving the church back some of the property it confiscated in the 1970s.
Though only a portion of one property in the central region of Vietnam has been given to the Catholic Church, the mere fact that the government is willing to discuss the matter is viewed as progress, he said.
The Vatican and Vietnam do not have diplomatic relations, but Vatican diplomats make annual visits to Vietnam to discuss church-state relations and specific questions related to the appointment of bishops, seminary enrollment and the functioning of Catholic institutions.
A three-man delegation, headed by Msgr. Pietro Parolin, Vatican undersecretary of state, met with a variety of government and church leaders during its June 9-15 visit to Vietnam.
Vietnam continues to insist on approving the Vatican's candidates for bishop before their nominations are announced.
Noting there is a need for more vocations, Cardinal Man said he only has 600 priests in his archdiocese of more than 650,000 Catholics.
Father Liem Nguyen, president of the Federation of Vietnamese Catholics in the USA and the pastor of a Vietnamese Catholic church in Atlanta, said many of the 500,000 Vietnamese Catholics living in the U.S. have made a concerted effort to send money, food and school supplies back to their homeland and routinely make pilgrimages to Vietnam, armed with medical supplies and health care instructions.
Cardinal Man planned to leave for Houston June 26 to visit family; from there he was to fly to Los Angeles to help Cardinal Roger M. Mahony of Los Angeles set up a sister parish in his archdiocese, and then to Seattle to concelebrate a Mass with Seattle Archbishop Alexander J. Brunett.
"We will also be inviting Catholic leaders from North America to Vietnam in 2009 and 2010 for our jubilee, 50 years with a Catholic hierarchy," Cardinal Man said.
Though Catholic missionaries first began evangelizing in Vietnam 500 years ago, the first dioceses were not established in the country until 1960, he said.
Le sfide della Chiesa in Vietnam: intervista con il cardinale Pham Minh Man
May 15, 2008
L’evoluzione dei rapporti della Chiesa con il governo vietnamita, le nuove sfide pastorali, i rapporti non sempre facili tra i fedeli e il clero diocesano: di questo e altro ha parlato il cardinale Jean Baptiste Pham Minh Man, in una lunga intervista all’agenzia UcaNews in cui traccia un bilancio dei suoi dieci anni alla guida dell’arcidiocesi di Ho Chi Minh Ville.
(Radio Vaticana, 22/04/2008) Un bilancio - ha detto - nell’insieme positivo, anche se alcuni nodi sono ancora aperti e resta molto da fare. A cominciare dalle relazioni con il governo di Hanoi. Se da un lato si notano diversi segnali di apertura del regime, restano le restrizioni e i controlli che limitano lo sviluppo delle attività della Chiesa in Vietnam. È il caso dell’educazione, della sanità e di altri servizi sociali che lo Stato da solo non è in grado di fornire in misura adeguata, ma che è ancora restio ad affidare alla Chiesa. Un altro nodo poi è quello della restituzione delle proprietà ecclesiastiche confiscate, oggetto di contenziosi ancora aperti. Per creare un clima di maggiore fiducia verso la Chiesa, il cardinale Man ritiene fondamentale il dialogo: “Ho cercato di migliorare il mio rapporto di collaborazione con incontri e lavorando a stretto contatto con il governo”. Un approccio che qualche frutto lo ha dato: “Adesso le autorità governative mi chiedono solo di tenerle informate sui miei impegni, non dobbiamo più chiedere autorizzazioni preventive per ordinare sacerdoti, trasferire il personale ecclesiastico e le iscrizioni ai seminari”. Questo anche grazie al mutato atteggiamento di alcuni alti funzionari governativi che “ora considerano i cattolici come una forza spirituale utile al Paese” e non più come “una forza nemica che potrebbe insidiare la loro influenza sul popolo”. Quanto alla situazione pastorale della sua arcidiocesi, segnata in passato anche da incomprensioni tra fedeli e clero, il cardinale Man rileva come ci siano stati progressi in questi dieci anni: “Con le mie iniziative pastorali ho cercato di costruire una Chiesa di comunione, portando un clima di unità tra i fedeli. Fino adesso ho raggiunto il 50% dei miei obiettivi e la vita dell’arcidiocesi si sta stabilizzando”.
Decennale del cardinale Phan Minh Man alla guida dell’arcidiocesi di Ho Chi Minh City
Apr 05, 2008
Festeggiamenti per i dieci anni del cardinale Jean Baptiste Pham Minh Man alla guida dell’arcidiocesi vietnamita di Ho Chi Minh City, ex Saigon.
(Radio Vaticana, 04/04/2008) Più di 10 mila fedeli hanno gioito per la crescita della Chiesa locale. Dal 1988, infatti, il cardinale è a capo di una comunità nella quale oggi 316 sacerdoti svolgono il loro ministero in 209 parrocchie e 646.732 laici sono iscritti a sedici grandi associazioni cattoliche. In questi anni, riferisce AsiaNews, tutte le componenti della Chiesa (sacerdoti, religiosi e laici) hanno appreso e coltivato le capacità per accrescere le attività pastorali. Il cardinale – secondo fonti cattoliche vietnamite – è molto attento agli sviluppi della società. I suoi scritti sono semplici, pieni, profondi e molto comprensibili. Ma il suo insegnamento avviene soprattutto attraverso il suo comportamento e i buoni esempi che egli dà nelle attività sociali, nei confronti di malati di Aids, emigranti, poveri e bambini sfortunati.
The entire community works for the golden Jubilee of the Catholic Vietnamese
Dec 11, 2007
The Cardinal Pham Minh Man asks for the “opinions and corrections” from bishops, priests and lay people regarding the project that is to be celebrated in 2010. Participation of lay people elaborating pastoral programmes is a novelty in the spirit of Vatican II.
(asianews.it, 12/10/2007) Ho Chi Minh City (AsiaNews) – Suggestions for the preparation and the best development of the celebrations in 2010 - golden jubilee for the development of Catholicism in Vietnam - have been requested by the Cardinal of Saigon, JB. Pham Minh Man, to bishops, priests, faithful, and lay people in the country.
The Cardinal elaborated a plan for the year of the jubilee and asks for “opinions and corrections” to the programme, that he wants also to prepare for the 500 years of the evangelisation of Vietnam, since 1533. “The preparation of the programme”, writes the Cardinal “aims at helping faithful Catholics to believe that the strings of events, the ideas of all the Churches are prayer. The Bishops Conference of Vietnam asks all the faithful to pray to God for the Congress, and its large assistance to the Catholic communities in Vietnam today”.
The objective is to give support to the Bishops Conference, gathering from 26 dioceses, and to the brothers and sisters that are basing themselves on methods that have been adapted to the current social circumstances. In the spirit of harmony, the Catholic Vietnamese work together for the Mission of the Gospel, serving and loving the people. And like that we must listen to all the members of the Catholic community and their opinions for the life of the local Church.
It is good that the Bishops Conference and the Jubilee’s organizers create opportune conditions so that the people of the dioceses, congregations, orders and parishes can express their ideas, expectations, necessities and suggest methods to develop the pastoral programmes.
“The fact that the local Church listens to the lay people”, said a social worker to AsiaNews, “is truly an innovation by those responsible. According to the Spirit of the II Vatican Council, it is the work of the lay people to take care of the social matters; since the citizens are the ones that really know what is happening at the moment. I am capable of developing my mission through my work with the poor and the disadvantaged children in the underdeveloped communities in my area.”
Huy, expert of a private company in Ho Chi Minh City is part of a small prayer group. “I feel”, he says, “that today my friends, myself and people in general have lost faith in each other. Why? Maybe because we live in times of consumerism; maybe because they are thrown towards the power of economics and ‘good positions’ as leaders in the social structures. I think we need to pray together that God bless our lives”.
Cardinal Man Reminds Catholic Media To Report Events Accurately
Jul 20, 2007
Cardinal Pham Minh Man of Ho Chi Minh City has reminded Catholic media in Vietnam to report events concerning the Catholic Church "honestly."
BANGKOK (UCAN, 20/07/2007) -- Cardinal Pham Minh Man of Ho Chi Minh City has reminded Catholic media in Vietnam to report events concerning the Catholic Church "honestly."
"The function of the Catholic media is to communicate honestly the gospel of truth on God, human beings and life," the cardinal wrote in a July 10 letter to the government-approved Cong Giao va Dan Toc (Catholicism and nation). Also based in Ho Chi Minh City, the government-approved Catholic weekly circulates 15,000 copies.
"I think truth is a key factor in fostering sustainable development in the country and building social relations that will strengthen nation-building," he said in the letter. It was sent to the Cong Giao va Dan Toc office and to other Vietnamese Catholic media centers in the country and abroad.
The cardinal's letter follows reports by local media about Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet's interview with Cable News Network (CNN), which the U.S.-based network televised June 24. The president, who was visiting the United States June 18-23, was quoted by local media as saying that the Vietnam Bishops' Conference and the Holy See "also agreed with us" about the trial of Father Thadeus Nguyen Van Ly, currently in prison after being convicted of anti-government propaganda.
However, some Vietnamese Catholic media abroad reported that Triet's claim is not in the English CNN transcript at (transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0706/24/le.01.html).
Cardinal Man pointed out that such "untrue information" added by state-run newspapers involved the local Catholic Church.
He noted that Bishop Paul Nguyen Van Hoa of Nha Trang, president of the Vietnam Bishops' Conference, "has to be worried and deny the matter, which some people consider serious but others consider a daily occurrence." Bishop Hoa told Triet in a July 7 letter that the president's quoted remark "does not correspond to the truth."
Nhan Dan (people), the daily newspaper of the Vietnamese Communist Party, published the president's alleged remark citing the Vatican and Vietnam Bishops' Conference on July 4. The state-run Tuoi Tre (youth) daily did the same two days later. State-approved Catholic media, such as Cong Giao va Dan Toc, did not report the comments.
Cardinal Man, in his two-page letter, also cited three earlier instances of local media reporting untrue information. He recounted that in 1998 he celebrated Christmas Eve Mass at a rural parish on the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City, since the parish priest there was elderly and ill. But local media reported that he celebrated the Christmas Eve Mass at the cathedral in front of a large congregation.
Such experiences gradually drive many people to live in doubt and distrust one another. They show that "truth" in contemporary society can be "one-sided ... and unrealistic," he said, warning that this can damage social relations.
"I wish Catholic media never drive the faithful to be skeptical about their God, Church family and compatriots," Cardinal Man said. He urged Catholic media personnel to be aware of and vigilant about their role in nation building and preaching the truth of Christ.
Father Ly, 61, was sentenced to eight years in jail and five years house arrest on March 30 by the Thua Thien-Hue Provincial People's Court in Hue, where the priest is based, 660 kilometers south of Ha Noi. Father Ly was accused of disseminating material intended to undermine the government and of communicating with anticommunist groups overseas.
Media also reported that he co-founded the "Progress Party" and plotted to merge this with overseas reactionary groups to form a new political federation. The Communist Party of Vietnam is the only political party allowed in Vietnam. It is illegal to establish another.
Seminario de Vietnam autorizado a tener nuevas inscripciones cada año
Mar 23, 2007
El Seminario Mayor de San José en esta ciudad, es el segundo seminario en Vietnam al que se le permite inscribir nuevos estudiantes anualmente, informa la Unión Católica de Noticias de Asia (UCAN).
HO CHI MINH, miércoles, 21 marzo 2007 (ZENIT.org).- Comparte el privilegio con el Seminario Mayor de San José en Ha Noi, que recibió el mismo permiso del Gobierno en 2005. Seis seminaristas mayores se preparan a ser ordenados sacerdotes en Vietnam.
El cardenal Jean Baptiste Pham Minh Man de Ho Chi Minh dijo a UCA News el 14 de marzo que el seminario local «iniciará oficialmente a inscribir nuevos estudiantes cada año, empezando con la clase que entrará en octubre».
El cardenal Man dijo que el seminario, construido en 1866, ha proporcionado formación sacerdotal para su arquidiócesis y otras seis diócesis, lo que ha hecho que sus estructuras se hayan quedado muy pequeñas. Los profesores no pueden trabajar cerca de los estudiantes, ya que hay 60 estudiantes por clase, añadió.
Pero todo está cambiando, sin embargo. Según el cardenal, los 35 nuevos estudiantes que empezarán el próximo año académico en el campus de Ho Chi Minh provienen sólo de esta arquidiócesis y de las diócesis vecinas de My Tho y Phu Cuong.
Los seminaristas de las diócesis de Ba Ria, Da Lat, Phan Thiet y Xuan Loc estudiarán en un nuevo campus en el complejo de la casa del obispo de Xuan Loc, en Long Khanh, a 80 kilómetros al norte de Ho Chi Minh.
Añadió que la Iglesia local pidió persistentemente durante seis años antes de recibir el permiso para abrir el segundo campus. La aprobación vino a finales de 2005, cuando la nueva diócesis de Ba Ria fue creada de la diócesis de Xuan Loc.
Una fuente eclesial de Xuan Loc dijo que el segundo campus, el antiguo seminario diocesano, proporcionó acomodación y formación sacerdotal para los seminaristas de Xuan Loc que empezaron el año pasado. En octubre de 2007, los nuevos estudiantes que vienen de otras diócesis también estudiarán en esta instalación, hasta que se acabe un nuevo edificio en 2008.
Con la inscripción anual, dijo el cardenal Man, la Iglesia local desarrollará programas de formación adicionales para formar a futuros sacerdotes de alta calidad. Uno de tales programas es un curso de preseminario que enseña a los candidatos «buena conducta, vida orientada comunitariamente y desarrollo espiritual», para familiarizarles con las actividades del seminario.
El cardenal Man explicó que después de 1975, cuando el país fue reunificado bajo el régimen comunista, el Gobierno confiscó las propiedades y la Iglesia local no podía proporcionar formación de seminario menor a los candidatos. En cambio, los reunieron en el seminario, una vez al mes para estudiar catecismo, Biblia, espiritualidad y humanismo.
Los seminaristas mayores, que estudian Filosofía durante dos años y teología cuatro años, realizan una experiencia pastoral en parroquias un mes al año durante sus vacaciones de verano, lo que «no es suficiente para ellos», explicó el cardenal.
El curso de un año, dijo el cardenal, «ayudará a reforzar las vocaciones de los candidatos y les ayudará a evitar la presión familiar y de la comunidad».
Los jóvenes que dejan el seminario pueden sentir el desprecio de su familia o parroquia.
El 8 de marzo, el cardenal Man presidió la ceremonia del primero de estos cursos para 21 candidatos arquidiocesanos al seminario. Veinticinco profesores y sacerdotes de parroquias, así como familiares de los candidatos, asistieron a la ceremonia, que tuvo lugar en la capilla del seminario.
El cardenal Man dijo que los candidatos viven en un viejo edificio dentro del complejo del seminario, al que le faltan algunos servicios. «Me gustaría que los católicos locales redujeran sus gastos esta Cuaresma, de manera que podamos construir un nuevo edificio para los candidatos al seminario», escribió en su mensaje de Cuaresma que fue leído en todas las parroquias.
Mientras tanto, los formadores de los seis mayores seminarios asistieron del 12 al 16 de marzo a un encuentro en Ho Chi Minh. Durante el encuentro, repasaron los recientes programas y propusieron un nuevo programa de formación común que esperan presentar en la reunión anual de obispos en septiembre.
Vietnam Archdiocese Hard Pressed To Serve Burgeoning Catholic Population
Jun 14, 2006
Ho Chi Minh City archdiocese needs more priests and churches to serve a growing Catholic population, according to its leader, Cardinal Jean Baptiste Pham Minh Man.
HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam (UCAN, June 12,2006) -- In describing the situation to UCA News on May 26, the cardinal added that the local Church should also take some responsibility for Vietnamese working elsewhere in the region.
When Cardinal Man began his ministry as archbishop on April 2, 1998, he recalled, the archdiocese had 510,000 Catholics. By 2005 this number rose to 630,000 people, served by 500 priests, or one priest for every 1,260 people. The number of Catholics, however, does not include tens of thousands of migrant Catholics from other provinces.
The Church leader noted that he has ordained 150 priests over an eight-year period, but during the same time almost 100 priests died, retired or became unable to do regular pastoral work due to illness.
A lot of overseas Vietnamese priests serve Vietnamese communities in foreign countries, the cardinal-archbishop acknowledged. In the United States, he noted, 700 Vietnamese priests serve 450,000 Catholics among 1.3 million Vietnamese-Americans. In Australia there are 116 Vietnamese priests serving 42,000 Catholics among 200,000 Vietnamese-Australians.
Cardinal Man said he would not invite those overseas priests to return to Vietnam to provide pastoral activities to local Catholics, since they "are not acquainted with local Catholics' lifestyles, feelings and thoughts or social norms." However, he qualified, overseas Vietnamese priests can be invited to give talks to local clergy, Religious and laity on Church issues and other subjects in which they specialize.
Meanwhile, he said, old churches and many churches that have been built or repaired in recent years do not provide enough seats for Massgoers, who "have to stand outside the doors or even on the pavement."
This past Easter, he recalled, he celebrated the two-hour Easter Vigil at Redemptorist-run Our Lady Of Perpetual Help Church and Massgoers stood throughout the whole celebration so more of them could fit. So, he concluded, many churches still need to be built to serve Catholics in the archdiocese.
The local Church also "does not have enough facilities to admit vocations," the Church leader said, noting that St. Joseph Major Seminary, where 210 seminarians from seven dioceses are studying, has to use its storeroom for student accommodations. This is because the government did not restrict the number of candidates proposed by the dioceses for this school year, he added.
With entering classes of 70 or more students, Cardinal Man said, "How well can seminary formators supervise students' studies?" The government allows the seminary to recruit a new class only every other year.
The government did give permission last December for the seminary in Ho Chi Minh City to open a branch in Long Khanh town. The new facility is expected to be ready in October, according to the cardinal, after which it will recruit seminarians from Ba Ria, Da Lat, Phan Thiet and Xuan Loc dioceses. The city campus will then admit only seminarians from the archdiocese and the neighboring dioceses of My Tho and Phu Cuong.
The cardinal expressed concern for the many Vietnamese workers in the region, especially in Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and the Philippines. The Catholic Church in Vietnam "should be responsible for providing pastoral care for those people," he said.
He added that he plans to invite Religious congregations working in Vietnam to have their communities in these other places offer pastoral care to Vietnamese workers. "It is best for the congregations to send their members to those countries where they will study local culture, traditions and lifestyles so that they can serve their compatriots," he added.
Cardinal Man explained that it is difficult to send archdiocesan priests to serve in foreign countries.
According to Vietnam's Agency for Foreign Labor Management, during the first three months of this year, 16,921 Vietnamese went abroad to work. Malaysia, which admitted approximately 7,200 workers, South Korea with 4,000 and Taiwan with 2,400 accounted for 80 percent of this total. Laos and Japan were next highest, admitting 680 and 494 workers respectively. During that period, workers each remitted an average of US$300 a month to family members at home.
Relations diplomatiques entre le Vietnam et le Vatican
May 20, 2005
Lors de son séjour à Rome, pour le conclave, l’archevêque de Hô Chi Minh-Ville, le cardinal J.-B. Pham Minh Mân, a fait le point sur les relations entre l’Église et l’État évoquant d’éventuelles relations diplomatiques entre le Vietnam et le Saint-Siège.
(InfoCatho, 19 mai 2005) A l’occasion des derniers événements marquants de l’Eglise catholique il a été plusieurs fois question, dans la bouche des autorités civiles et religieuses, de l’établissement de relations diplomatiques entre le Saint-Siège et le Vietnam. Le cardinal Pham Minh Man a en particulier affirmé que ce n’était plus qu’une question de temps.
Bien qu’ignorant combien de temps dureront les démarches techniques préalables, il s’est dit convaincu de l’imminence de cet événement. Du côté du Vatican, tout le monde y est prêt, a-t-il affirmé. Du côté des autorités vietnamiennes, beaucoup de signes montrent un véritable désir de bonnes relations. C’est ainsi que, récemment, une directive du pouvoir central a été envoyée à l’ambassadeur du Vietnam à Rome pour lui demander de participer à toutes les cérémonies relatives à la mort du pape et à l’élection de son successeur.
Le cardinal a rapporté aussi que l’ambassadeur actuel quittait Rome le 28 avril et serait remplacé trois jours plus tard par un autre, déjà rencontré par Mgr Mân à Hô Chi Minh-Ville. Le futur ambassadeur lui avait alors fait part de sa ferme intention d’améliorer le plus possible les relations existantes entre Rome et Hanoi. Le cardinal a informé la Secrétairerie d’État de ce nouvel état d’esprit.
Quelque temps après la parution de la récente Ordonnance sur la croyance religieuse, entrée en vigueur au mois de novembre 2004, avait eu lieu l’assemblée annuelle de la Conférence épiscopale du Vietnam. Le responsable du Bureau des Affaires religieuses était venu rencontrer les évêques, et ceux-ci l’ont interrogé au sujet de l’article 33 de ce nouveau texte, article qui affirme que "l’Etat encourage les organisations religieuses à participer à l’éducation des enfants vivant dans des circonstances spéciales, de porter assistance aux établissements s’occupant de la santé des pauvres, des handicapés, des malades contaminés par le sida, des lépreux, des malades mentaux, de patronner les établissements éducatifs pour l’enfance, de participer aux autres activités de caractère caritatif et humanitaire."
Certes, remarque le cardinal, il s’agit là d’une ouverture, mais qui comporte en même temps une limite. Cet encouragement s’adresse à des activités menées dans le cadre des paroisses et non pas à l’intérieur de la société vietnamienne dans sa globalité. De même, l’Église est encouragée à participer à l’éducation des enfants, mais seulement, telle est la limite, dans les classes maternelles. C’est la raison pour laquelle Mgr Mân a déclaré que ce fameux article 33 était à la fois une ouverture et une barrière aux activités de l’Eglise.
A une question demandant au cardinal pourquoi les évêques du Vietnam n’adoptaient pas une position plus ferme à l’égard du gouvernement, il a répondu que les chrétiens vietnamiens, dans le pays et hors du pays, adoptaient en ce domaine des attitudes différentes.
Quant aux évêques, ils ne peuvent se situer qu’à partir de la Bonne Nouvelle, source de lumière, de bien et de vérité. C’est elle qu’ils sont chargés d’apporter aux hommes qu’il faut tous aimer, quels qu’ils soient. La seule voie à suivre pour l’Eglise, même lorsque la liberté manque ou que les difficultés sont nombreuses, est la voie du dialogue, celle de Vatican II. Les évêques ne pratiquent donc pas l’opposition systématique mais le dialogue.
An interview with Pietro Parolin on relations between the Church and the Hanoi government
Apr 14, 2005
We can’t but hope they will be willing to return to the spirit that animated Ho Chi Minh, who – in the famous ordinance 234 of 1955 – set no restrictions on the Church in the appointment of bishops, access to seminaries or the activities of religious congregations». So says the Undersecretary of the Section for Relations with States at the Vatican Secretariat of State
(30 Days, May 2004) «The only real key to interpreting the creation of Cardinal Pham Minh Man, at the last Consistory, is the Pope’s concern for the Vietnamese Church, which is alive, united and flowering with priestly and religious vocations», part and parcel of the country and eager of serving the common good. The nomination was hailed by the communist government itself, which, in a statement by the spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, declared: «It is good news for Vietnamese Catholics to have another cardinal. It’s the first time in the history of the Catholic Church of Vietnam that Vietnam has two cardinals at the same time».
Jean-Baptiste Pham Minh Man welcomed in Thanh Pho Ho Chi Minh on his return to the country, immediately after being made cardinal by John Paul II during the Consistory of 21 October 2003
At the end of April Monsignor Pietro Parolin, Undersecretary of the Section for Relations with States at the Vatican Secretariat of State, led the Vatican delegation to Vietnam which included Monsignor Luis Mariano Montemayor, nunciature adviser at the Secretariat of State, and Monsignor Barnabé Nguyen Van Phuong, office head of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. This visit renewed the practice of an annual meeting interrupted in 2003 «for purely organizational reasons», explains Parolin,«because of a series of happenings at the second level of the Section of the Secretariat of State». His considered judgment, after the Vietnam meetings, was that the visit was successful, that relations were improving.
-Q:The new Cardinal Pham Minh Man has publicly proposed to settle the question of freedom of worship by going back to what had been established by Ho Chi Minh, the founder of communist Vietnam. What do you think?
PIETRO PAROLIN: I would say that it’s a valid proposal. The cardinal has acted with reasonableness and his initiative deserves support. We can’t but hope they will be willing to return to the spirit that animated Ho Chi Minh, who – in the famous ordinance 234 of 1955 – set no restrictions on the Church in the appointment of bishops, access to seminaries or the activities of religious congregations. And for that matter, we several times heard mention in the official talks of a recent resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, in which Vietnamese Catholic are defined as «full citizens» and the government’s desire «to respond to the spiritual demands of that part of the population that professes a religious faith» is assured. This position of the Communist Party must certainly be given a positive welcome. Another notion that came up on different occasions as expression of the wishes of our Vietnamese counterparts was that it’s time now to leave the past behind and look with trust to the future in relations with the Catholic Church.
-Q:What can you tell us of your stay in Vietnam?
PAROLIN: The Holy See delegation, as on previous missions, had two goals in mind: to dialogue with the government authorities so as to encourage mutual relations and deal with the questions of the relations between Church and State, and, at the same time, to meet the Catholic community. So we had the joy of meeting the President of the Episcopal Conference, the members of its Permanent Council and the bishops of the ecclesiastical province of Hanoi. We visited the dioceses of Xuan Loc and of Ban Me Thuot. Those dioceses had never been visited by previous delegations from the Holy See, and having been able to do so was, in a certain sense, a surprise. Xuan Loc, in the south, is the largest diocese in the country, where Catholics represent about thirty per cent of the population. Ban Me Thuot is in the central highlands, where two score ethnic minorities, known as “montagnards” live and where there are tensions, as is known. We received information from the local authorities on the happenings in early April. In Hanoi we celebrated holy mass at the senior seminary and with the Nuns Lovers of the Cross, and a meeting was organized with representatives of the clergy, of the religious life, of the laity and of the Catholic institutions of the archdiocese in Thanh Pho Ho Chi Minh. At government level, there were two working sessions with the Office for Religious Affairs and courtesy visits to the Vice-ministry of Foreign Affairs, to the Vice-president of the Commission for Foreign Affairs of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam and, during the visit to the dioceses, to the local authorities. We were received with respect, almost with cordiality, I’d say, attitudes that we always tried to reciprocate. I think the talks with the authorities of the Office for Religious Affairs were useful, even if there are questions still to be answered.
-Q:Did you manage to achieve any improvement as regards freedom of worship?
PAROLIN: Fifteen years have now passed since the first visits of the delegation from the Holy See and one can’t deny that there’s been progress. We’ve learned that in some regions the authorities have asked for the collaboration of the religious in treating AIDS patients; elsewhere permission has been given to new entries into religious institutes. These are all symptoms of a more open attitude towards the Catholic Church. Nevertheless I think there is still a long way to go. So I hope that dialogue continues and goes deeper, and that with dialogue understanding and trust grow. The Church is only asking to be able to perform its mission freely, setting itself generously at the service of the country and its inhabitants.
A priest blessing a group of Vietnamese pilgrims near the sanctuary of Our Lady of La Vang, in the province of Quang Tri
-Q:And on the question of government restrictions on episcopal appointments?
PAROLIN: The Holy See delegation went to Vietnam also to discuss the appointment of bishops with the government authorities. Because of known circumstances, in Vietnam it currently follows an exceptional procedure. Obviously we nourish the hope that normalization will also be achieved in that sphere. On this recent visit there was some progress, that will be made known at the opportune moment. Other questions that deserve attention were also discussed.
-Q:Is there an episode from this trip to Vietnam that you particularly remember?
PAROLIN: I think the most moving episode occurred in Ban Me Thuot. We celebrated holy mass in the afternoon in the Bishop’s chapel and a private visit was planned the following morning to the Cathedral. Instead, on our arrival we found a church almost crowded with faithful who had come there freely when they heard of the presence of a delegation from the Holy See. It was a very intense experience, that was repeated a little later in the house of the Nuns of Mary Queen of Peace, a diocesan Congregation that works mostly with the “montagnards”. I must say, however, that all the meetings with the Church were marked by enthusiasm, deep spirituality, an atmosphere of intense ecclesial communion and feelings of attachment, devotion and fidelity to the Successor of Peter: something the delegation had the joy of passing on to the Holy Father on its return to Rome.
Vietnam Does Not Recognize New Cardinal
Sept 18, 2004
Vietnam on Monday refused to recognize Pope John Paul II's appointment of a new cardinal for Ho Chi Minh City, renewing tension between the Vatican and the communist country, which tightly controls religion.
(Source unknown, 29 September 2003) Archbishop Jean-Baptiste Pham Minh Man was chosen Sunday as one of 31 cardinals. Officials at the Vietnamese Government Committee for Religious Affairs, however, said the Vatican did not seek permission to elevate Man and they were unaware of the appointment.
An official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the government has asked the Vietnamese Embassy in Rome to investigate and that Prime Minister Phan Van Khai would be informed. The official said it could create problems between Vietnam and the Vatican.
But officials in Rome familiar with the strains between Hanoi and the Vatican said, "They are asking too much," when told that Vietnam had not recognized Man's appointment.
Vietnam has rejected past appointments and a rift was created in the 1990s after Archbishop Nguyen Van Binh's death in Ho Chi Minh City in 1995. Vietnam blocked the Vatican's chosen successor who was considered too influential and it did not allow Man, the Vatican's second choice, to assume the position until talks smoothed the way in 1998.
The government official said the Vatican had agreed to get approval from Hanoi before making future appointments for bishops, archbishops and cardinals.
But another official in Rome who spoke on condition of anonymity said the Vatican never seeks permission regarding appointments of cardinals and that nominations are entirely up to the pope.
Man did not immediately respond Monday to questions.
Only a handful of state-sponsored churches are permitted to operate in Vietnam. There are more than 5 million Roman Catholics in the country - the second-largest religion after Buddhism - and only three cardinals have been recognized since the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. Pham Ding Tung is the only cardinal still living after being appointed in Hanoi in 1994, according to the capital city's diocese.
The new cardinals will receive their red hats at a ceremony Oct. 21 in Rome.
Vietnam Approves Appointment of New Cardinal
Sept 18, 2004
The Vietnamese government has welcomed the appointment by the Vatican of a Ho Chi Minh City archbishop as a cardinal.
(Source unknown, 2 October 2003) A Foreign Ministry spokesman, Le Dung, has praised the elevation of Jean-Baptiste Pham Minh Man to the elite ranks of the Catholic Church.
Archbishop Man was one of 31 new cardinals named by Pope John Paul II on Sunday.
Earlier this week several media reports said the government had rejected the appointment because it was decided unilaterally by the Vatican without Hanoi's approval.
However, Archbishop Man denied the reports on Wednesday after a meeting with the Government Committee on Religion - the government's highest religious authority.
The Foreign Ministry says the relationship between Vietnam and the Vatican is showing progress, and says the respect and mutual understanding between the two is increasing.
Vietnam has Asia's second largest Catholic congregation after the Philippines, with as many as 8 million believers.
Relations between Vietnam and the Vatican have been tense ever since the Catholic-dominated South Vietnamese regime fell to communist forces in April 1975.
Viet Cardinal Doesn’t Hope for a Pontiff from Southeast Asia
Sept 16, 2004
A new Roman Catholic cardinal whose flock has survived sometimes severe repression said yesterday that faith can help pull beleaguered Boston Catholics beyond the troubles of the past two years.
(Source unknown, 5 November 2003) “In Vietnam, we met with many difficulties and recovered the faith to remain strong and united to each other and the church and Christ,” Jean-Baptiste Cardinal Pham Minh Man said at Boston College.
Man would like to see the government in Vietnam ease restrictions that have prevented religious organizations from building hospitals or schools, he said. “We hope in the future we can some day do it with the help of God and other people.”
Vietnamese officials were slow to recognize Pope John Paul II's selection of Man as a cardinal in September. Man said they dropped their opposition after a brief meeting. “I told them my robe changed color, that's all.”
Man, who as a cardinal will now be a candidate for pope, seemed stunned yesterday when asked whether he thinks there will some day be a pontiff from Southeast Asia.
“I don't know,” he said. “But we don't hope for it.”
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Lịch trình chuyến viếng thăm của Đức Hồng Y Phạm Minh Mẫn đến San Jose + Lời kêu gọi của Micae Lê Văn Ấn
Le sfide della Chiesa in Vietnam: intervista con il cardinale Pham Minh Man
Seminario de Vietnam autorizado a tener nuevas inscripciones cada año