Pastoral Letter – September 2007
Human Rights and Duty to Learn about Church’s Teaching on Social Issues
Introduction
The duty involving for human rights asks us to fulfill two top priorities as Christians. Firstly, to engage in prayer life in order to cultivate mind becoming good conscience, and secondly to learn about the Church’s teaching on social issues to cultivate our hearts becoming clear. Both priorities aim to promote first of all the rights in oneself with the ideas in respecting human rights of others.
In other words, true Christian has the duty to pray and to learn before acting for human rights, because praying and studying will help human beings when working for human rights, they will have peace of mind, clarity, and act with an attitude respecting the truth and justice, with fraternal charity, and at the same time they can avoid actions motivating by the hearts full of disire, will, cupidity, and hatred, avoid going after mundane ways in viewpoints of confrontations; to eliminate and to kill each other, are also a form of violating the human rights of each other.
Last month, I mentioned our duty to pray. This month I will spend time to talk about the Church’s teaching on social issues.
I. Developing Situation in Vietnam:
1. Overcoming the Consequence of a 30-Year-Long War:
Since 1975, Vietnam has tried to overcome consequences of a 30-year-long war on not only on the matter of material structures, but slso on persons: with more than one million of wounded soldiers, around two millions of homeless children, two millions of widows, and five millions of disabled persons.
In addition, another wound, which was caused by a protracted war that lasted many decades, has imprinted deeper and deeper in our contrymen’s minds and in the hearts of many people. That wound has caused division, and put its people and humanity in the situation of confrontations and eleminating each other. It has once isolated the country from the world’s communities and thus weakening the vitality of people.
Many parts in the community of people, once realizing being on the verge of a self-destruction, have made some efforts to heal the wound, and together walk on the path of reconciliation, to open wide their homes, to integrate into a globalization world of today, and to rebuild a sense of unity as a force for the development of the country. Despite all of those, the wound seems to be blood seepage still, and it still needs to be taken care of, and the needs for more effective and appropriate treatment solutions.
2. Shift from Concentrated Economy to Market Economy:.
Over the last two decades, there was a shift from concentrated economy to market economy that has brought with it both positive and negative consequences for family and society. There have been significant development in both social and economic life. However, this development lacks its totality and not for everybody, and with the lack of experience, thus it leads to many negative consequences.
Some negative consequences can be clearly observed in family andf in society, such as: - many millions of people have migrated from the countryside to the cities, - deep and wider division among the rich and the poor, - the collapse of morals and ethics values which become more and more serious, - in additions, the surge of many social evils (cheat, fraud, corruption, family violence, abortions, divorce, prostitution, human trafficking, drugs, HIV/AIDS). Despite positive measures to cure those evils, but these along with HIV/AIDS they keep spreading out fast all over the country.
These negative consequences have dramatically upset the basic values in cultural traditions and morals of families and society, thus it helps to form a culture of death, which is quite opposite with the culture of life and the civilization of love that often are the way to lead to the development of the country, and to advance both family and the community of people.
3. Shifts relating to religions.
By the historical reasons as well as by viewpoints and prejudices, the Government, in these past decades, has maintained a rather negative attitude towards religions. For that reason, religions often have faced with many difficulties and limitations in their activities. Since the time Vietnam opens to the outside world and changed to the market economy, the situation has become gradually changed for better. In the past, religious organizations were considered to be entities of protesting and disturbing the Government, but they are gradually considered to be a spiritual force contributing their parts in building up and developing the country, advancing the familial life, society and community of people.
Even though at the present time, religious organizations still face with a number of limitations and injustice. Based on mass media communications and social means, civil authorities do acknowledge those social setbacks, and nowadays our countrymen and people all over the world are eargerly expecting that the government will soon stop their unjust treatments to these religious organizations and other parts of the community of people.
II. Aims of Catholic Church’s Teaching on Social Issues:
1. Basic Values:
With emphasis on the Word of God and teachings of Second Vatican Council along with experiences gathered through the history of the human developments, the Church’s teaching on social issues has developed and implemented over the centuries. Now these teachings are summoned to highlight important spiritual and moral values such as: the truth and justice, fraternal friendship and unity, and charitable love to build peace and to serve for life and dignity of every human being.
However, general aim of this teaching is also used as a foundation to promote human rights, and to strengthen the development for both society and peoples’ community as well.
2. Criteria for A Stable and Comprehensive Development:
Spiritual and moral values as mentioned in the Church’s teaching above are criteria for comprehensive development on every aspect of economic, societal, political, educational and family life, and also ultimately leading to total development of every human being. Those criteria at the same time help civil authorities and other economic and societal organizations to avoid repeating past mistakes as a result of making people become manufacturing tools to serve for ambitions of those who have power, influence and financial resources.
3. Responsibility of Every Person in the Catholic Church:
His or her responsibility is bringing forward basic values learned from the above-mentioned teaching to the reality of both family and social life in order to contribute his/her part in building a new human community which lives solely based on the truth and justice, in peace and unity, in love and in service for life and dignity of every human being as sons and daughters of a Father, and as members of a family.
III. Practical Implications:
1. Compendium on the Church’s Teaching of Social Justice:
Pontifical Council of Justice and Peace during the period which the late Cardinal Francis Nguyen Van Thuan became President has initiated the Compendium works on the Church’s teaching over many centuries and made it become a Synopsis of the Church’s Teaching on Social Issues. Now, it has been completed and translated into different languages, including Vietnamese.
2. Training and Education Program:
Now, this Magisterium need to be trained and educated for the People of God, other good-will people, especially those who are working on educational, political, economical and societal field.
The aim of this type of training and education firstly to pave the way for them to become salt, leaven, and light for basic values in society, and secondly to enable them contributing their active parts into the rebuilding of a culture of life and a civilization of love for the stable development of the country which lead all human beings, families and societal communities to an abundant, and peaceful life with lasting happiness.
On the Martyrdom of St. John, the Baptist for the Truth and Justice.
+ John Baptist Cardinal Pham Minh Man
Archbishop, Archdiocese of Saigon
Human Rights and Duty to Learn about Church’s Teaching on Social Issues
Introduction
The duty involving for human rights asks us to fulfill two top priorities as Christians. Firstly, to engage in prayer life in order to cultivate mind becoming good conscience, and secondly to learn about the Church’s teaching on social issues to cultivate our hearts becoming clear. Both priorities aim to promote first of all the rights in oneself with the ideas in respecting human rights of others.
In other words, true Christian has the duty to pray and to learn before acting for human rights, because praying and studying will help human beings when working for human rights, they will have peace of mind, clarity, and act with an attitude respecting the truth and justice, with fraternal charity, and at the same time they can avoid actions motivating by the hearts full of disire, will, cupidity, and hatred, avoid going after mundane ways in viewpoints of confrontations; to eliminate and to kill each other, are also a form of violating the human rights of each other.
Last month, I mentioned our duty to pray. This month I will spend time to talk about the Church’s teaching on social issues.
I. Developing Situation in Vietnam:
1. Overcoming the Consequence of a 30-Year-Long War:
Since 1975, Vietnam has tried to overcome consequences of a 30-year-long war on not only on the matter of material structures, but slso on persons: with more than one million of wounded soldiers, around two millions of homeless children, two millions of widows, and five millions of disabled persons.
In addition, another wound, which was caused by a protracted war that lasted many decades, has imprinted deeper and deeper in our contrymen’s minds and in the hearts of many people. That wound has caused division, and put its people and humanity in the situation of confrontations and eleminating each other. It has once isolated the country from the world’s communities and thus weakening the vitality of people.
Many parts in the community of people, once realizing being on the verge of a self-destruction, have made some efforts to heal the wound, and together walk on the path of reconciliation, to open wide their homes, to integrate into a globalization world of today, and to rebuild a sense of unity as a force for the development of the country. Despite all of those, the wound seems to be blood seepage still, and it still needs to be taken care of, and the needs for more effective and appropriate treatment solutions.
2. Shift from Concentrated Economy to Market Economy:.
Over the last two decades, there was a shift from concentrated economy to market economy that has brought with it both positive and negative consequences for family and society. There have been significant development in both social and economic life. However, this development lacks its totality and not for everybody, and with the lack of experience, thus it leads to many negative consequences. Some negative consequences can be clearly observed in family andf in society, such as: - many millions of people have migrated from the countryside to the cities, - deep and wider division among the rich and the poor, - the collapse of morals and ethics values which become more and more serious, - in additions, the surge of many social evils (cheat, fraud, corruption, family violence, abortions, divorce, prostitution, human trafficking, drugs, HIV/AIDS). Despite positive measures to cure those evils, but these along with HIV/AIDS they keep spreading out fast all over the country.
These negative consequences have dramatically upset the basic values in cultural traditions and morals of families and society, thus it helps to form a culture of death, which is quite opposite with the culture of life and the civilization of love that often are the way to lead to the development of the country, and to advance both family and the community of people.
3. Shifts relating to religions.
By the historical reasons as well as by viewpoints and prejudices, the Government, in these past decades, has maintained a rather negative attitude towards religions. For that reason, religions often have faced with many difficulties and limitations in their activities. Since the time Vietnam opens to the outside world and changed to the market economy, the situation has become gradually changed for better. In the past, religious organizations were considered to be entities of protesting and disturbing the Government, but they are gradually considered to be a spiritual force contributing their parts in building up and developing the country, advancing the familial life, society and community of people.
Even though at the present time, religious organizations still face with a number of limitations and injustice. Based on mass media communications and social means, civil authorities do acknowledge those social setbacks, and nowadays our countrymen and people all over the world are eargerly expecting that the government will soon stop their unjust treatments to these religious organizations and other parts of the community of people.
II. Aims of Catholic Church’s Teaching on Social Issues:
1. Basic Values:
With emphasis on the Word of God and teachings of Second Vatican Council along with experiences gathered through the history of the human developments, the Church’s teaching on social issues has developed and implemented over the centuries. Now these teachings are summoned to highlight important spiritual and moral values such as: the truth and justice, fraternal friendship and unity, and charitable love to build peace and to serve for life and dignity of every human being.
However, general aim of this teaching is also used as a foundation to promote human rights, and to strengthen the development for both society and peoples’ community as well.
2. Criteria for A Stable and Comprehensive Development:
Spiritual and moral values as mentioned in the Church’s teaching above are criteria for comprehensive development on every aspect of economic, societal, political, educational and family life, and also ultimately leading to total development of every human being. Those criteria at the same time help civil authorities and other economic and societal organizations to avoid repeating past mistakes as a result of making people become manufacturing tools to serve for ambitions of those who have power, influence and financial resources.
3. Responsibility of Every Person in the Catholic Church:
His or her responsibility is bringing forward basic values learned from the above-mentioned teaching to the reality of both family and social life in order to contribute his/her part in building a new human community which lives solely based on the truth and justice, in peace and unity, in love and in service for life and dignity of every human being as sons and daughters of a Father, and as members of a family.
III. Practical Implications:
1. Compendium on the Church’s Teaching of Social Justice:
Pontifical Council of Justice and Peace during the period which the late Cardinal Francis Nguyen Van Thuan became President has initiated the Compendium works on the Church’s teaching over many centuries and made it become a Synopsis of the Church’s Teaching on Social Issues. Now, it has been completed and translated into different languages, including Vietnamese.
2. Training and Education Program:
Now, this Magisterium need to be trained and educated for the People of God, other good-will people, especially those who are working on educational, political, economical and societal field.
The aim of this type of training and education firstly to pave the way for them to become salt, leaven, and light for basic values in society, and secondly to enable them contributing their active parts into the rebuilding of a culture of life and a civilization of love for the stable development of the country which lead all human beings, families and societal communities to an abundant, and peaceful life with lasting happiness.
On the Martyrdom of St. John, the Baptist for the Truth and Justice.
+ John Baptist Cardinal Pham Minh Man
Archbishop, Archdiocese of Saigon