Hanoi, Mar. 3, 2008 (CWNews.com) - Bishop Francis Nguyen Van Sang of Thai Binh, Vietnam, has challenged that country's government to relax controls on the Catholic Church.
Bishop Nguyen issued a statement on March 1 responding to a series of critical articles in the magazine Catholics and People, which is published by the Committee for Solidarity of Vietnamese Catholics. Both the magazine and the Committee for Solidarity are controlled by the government, which views the Committee as a means of exercising control over the country's Catholics.
"We do not need that sort of committee," Bishop Nguyen said. He urged the government to reconsider the role of the committee, saying: “It’s only a burden on the nation budget.”
Bishop Francis Nguyen’s statement is to reply to criticism from Tran Dinh Phung, the chief of the government's religious-affairs ministry, who had complained that the Committee for Solidarity has been barred from the Thai Binh diocese. The bishop said that “the committee does not bring about any benefits” for Catholics there.
Bishop Nguyen issued a statement on March 1 responding to a series of critical articles in the magazine Catholics and People, which is published by the Committee for Solidarity of Vietnamese Catholics. Both the magazine and the Committee for Solidarity are controlled by the government, which views the Committee as a means of exercising control over the country's Catholics.
"We do not need that sort of committee," Bishop Nguyen said. He urged the government to reconsider the role of the committee, saying: “It’s only a burden on the nation budget.”
Bishop Francis Nguyen’s statement is to reply to criticism from Tran Dinh Phung, the chief of the government's religious-affairs ministry, who had complained that the Committee for Solidarity has been barred from the Thai Binh diocese. The bishop said that “the committee does not bring about any benefits” for Catholics there.