Among growing rumours of an imminent resumption of mass demonstrations, a high ranking official in the Vietnam Ministry of Religious Affairs reaffirms that his government will return the former nunciature to the Church to show its respect to the Holy See.
“The Prime Minister appreciated gestures of goodwill from Vatican and from Archbishop Ngo Quang Kiet when they instructed Hanoi Catholics to stop demonstrations. In reply, we also want to show our gestures of sincere dialogue”, said Tran Dinh Phung, the chief of the Government Committee for Religious Affairs during a 2-day conference of the “Committee for Solidarity of Vietnamese Catholics” held at Hanoi from 27 to 28 February.
He reaffirmed his government’s promise to return the former nunciature to the Church, but did not explicitly state the exact time.
The Committee for Solidarity of Vietnamese Catholics does not belong to the Church. It was set up by the communist government soon after it took control Vietnam in 1975. Its initial intention was to create a state-approved Catholic Church as the one in China. This attempt failed thanks to the fidelity to Christ and His Church of Bishops, priests, religious and lay people.
In many dioceses, Bishops explicitly ban their clergy to participate in the committee complaining that it interferes so much in normal activities of the Church, and causes confusions among the laity.
Government officials at the conference strongly criticized Thich Trung Hau, a leader of the Vietnam Buddhist Church set up by the Communist government in 1981, who recently published his letter sent to the Prime Minister making his own claim to ownership of the property, charging that the French colonial government had seized property from Buddhists in 1883. “His act could not help but complicate the search of a way to solve the issue peacefully”, an official said.
The “Catholics and People” magazine was also slated. During the meeting, officials accused the magazine of violating a government order to stop attacking on Hanoi Catholics in an attempt to ease the situation.
The magazine - which, despite its name, is controlled by the Communist party rather than the Church - has carried a series of articles supporting Thich Trung Hau’s claim to the building, charging that Catholic activists have violated property laws, and accusing the demonstrators of harming the public reputation of Catholic citizens. It argued that the nuncio's office became public property by default when the papal envoy left the country in 1959.
These articles were seen as “adding fuel to the fire” and might lead to social unrest as it incited conflicts between Catholics and Buddhists.
Some attendances in the conference suggested the government to close the magazine or at least force Truong Ba Can, the editor, to quit his position. Can is a notorious pro-communist Catholic dissident. He has used the magazine to lay harsh criticisms on Vatican and the Popes.
In particular, conference participants voiced their concerns that the paper has been out of their control and Can’s passionate anti-Vatican altitude is not in line with new religious policy which aims at establishing normal diplomatic relations with the Holy See.
The anti-Vatican policy of the magazine has caused great concerns among Catholics. In an article published in VietCatholic News Agency, Sr. Thérèse Mai Anh from Saigon, saw the magazine as “a concrete evidence of ongoing persecutions” that the Church in Vietnam has suffered.
In a relating development, Catholics’ activists have posted their articles on the wall of the office of Hanoi Archdiocese where hundreds of Catholics gather every day to discuss the progress in their quest to regain the nunciature. So far, Catholics in Vietnam have not been allowed to have their own media. In fact, there is no independent, privately-run media in Vietnam. Domestic newspapers, television and radio stations remain under strict government control.
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He reaffirmed his government’s promise to return the former nunciature to the Church, but did not explicitly state the exact time.
The Committee for Solidarity of Vietnamese Catholics does not belong to the Church. It was set up by the communist government soon after it took control Vietnam in 1975. Its initial intention was to create a state-approved Catholic Church as the one in China. This attempt failed thanks to the fidelity to Christ and His Church of Bishops, priests, religious and lay people.
In many dioceses, Bishops explicitly ban their clergy to participate in the committee complaining that it interferes so much in normal activities of the Church, and causes confusions among the laity.
Government officials at the conference strongly criticized Thich Trung Hau, a leader of the Vietnam Buddhist Church set up by the Communist government in 1981, who recently published his letter sent to the Prime Minister making his own claim to ownership of the property, charging that the French colonial government had seized property from Buddhists in 1883. “His act could not help but complicate the search of a way to solve the issue peacefully”, an official said.
The “Catholics and People” magazine was also slated. During the meeting, officials accused the magazine of violating a government order to stop attacking on Hanoi Catholics in an attempt to ease the situation.
The magazine - which, despite its name, is controlled by the Communist party rather than the Church - has carried a series of articles supporting Thich Trung Hau’s claim to the building, charging that Catholic activists have violated property laws, and accusing the demonstrators of harming the public reputation of Catholic citizens. It argued that the nuncio's office became public property by default when the papal envoy left the country in 1959.
These articles were seen as “adding fuel to the fire” and might lead to social unrest as it incited conflicts between Catholics and Buddhists.
Some attendances in the conference suggested the government to close the magazine or at least force Truong Ba Can, the editor, to quit his position. Can is a notorious pro-communist Catholic dissident. He has used the magazine to lay harsh criticisms on Vatican and the Popes.
In particular, conference participants voiced their concerns that the paper has been out of their control and Can’s passionate anti-Vatican altitude is not in line with new religious policy which aims at establishing normal diplomatic relations with the Holy See.
The anti-Vatican policy of the magazine has caused great concerns among Catholics. In an article published in VietCatholic News Agency, Sr. Thérèse Mai Anh from Saigon, saw the magazine as “a concrete evidence of ongoing persecutions” that the Church in Vietnam has suffered.
In a relating development, Catholics’ activists have posted their articles on the wall of the office of Hanoi Archdiocese where hundreds of Catholics gather every day to discuss the progress in their quest to regain the nunciature. So far, Catholics in Vietnam have not been allowed to have their own media. In fact, there is no independent, privately-run media in Vietnam. Domestic newspapers, television and radio stations remain under strict government control.