Since last Sunday morning Feb. 22 Vietnamese Catholics have been mourning the death of Cardinal Paul Joseph Pham Dinh Tung, Archbishop Emeritus of Ha Noi. His death came just one day after the Holy See's appointment of Bishop Vincent Nguyen Van Ban in Ban Me Thuot diocese, Vietnam on Feb. 21.
Cardinal Pham Dinh Tung, known for his historical role as the second cardinal in history of Vietnamese Catholic church, who had refused to be an ornamental shepherd as being under house arrest for most of the 30 years of his episcopate in the Diocese of Bac Ninh. Although his pastoral duties and movement had been severely restricted by the government, then Bishop Tung spent decades of his confinement to accomplish several major tasks such as making the Gospels, the commandments, and the sacraments rhyme so that they will be easier for people to learn and retain in their memory. He also reorganized the make-up of his diocese, forming parish councils and empowered lay people with various roles in church activities to make pensioners' participation more active and meaningful. Also, thanks to his tireless effort, young children in the diocese became more interested in learning catechism in schools designated for youngsters that he founded.
Cardinal Paul Joseph will be greatly missed by his flock.
In another part of the country, in the diocese of Ban Me Thuot, located on central highland of Vietnam, a mixed feeling of sadness at the loss of cardinal Tung and joy of being blessed with a new bishop has been shared by all Catholic faithful.
Ban Me Thuot diocese has been established since Jun 22, 1967 which includes 3 provinces of central highland Vietnam: Daklak, Quang Duc and Phuoc Long. With almost 300,000 parishioners of several different ethnic groups, the diocese has been suffering from a drought for a permanent bishop since 2006 when Bishop Joseph Nguyen Tich Duc had to resign due to illness. Bishop Paul Nguyen Van Hoa of Nha Trang diocese has been resuming the duty of an apostolic administrator since then.
Cardinal Pham Dinh Tung, known for his historical role as the second cardinal in history of Vietnamese Catholic church, who had refused to be an ornamental shepherd as being under house arrest for most of the 30 years of his episcopate in the Diocese of Bac Ninh. Although his pastoral duties and movement had been severely restricted by the government, then Bishop Tung spent decades of his confinement to accomplish several major tasks such as making the Gospels, the commandments, and the sacraments rhyme so that they will be easier for people to learn and retain in their memory. He also reorganized the make-up of his diocese, forming parish councils and empowered lay people with various roles in church activities to make pensioners' participation more active and meaningful. Also, thanks to his tireless effort, young children in the diocese became more interested in learning catechism in schools designated for youngsters that he founded.
Cardinal Paul Joseph will be greatly missed by his flock.
In another part of the country, in the diocese of Ban Me Thuot, located on central highland of Vietnam, a mixed feeling of sadness at the loss of cardinal Tung and joy of being blessed with a new bishop has been shared by all Catholic faithful.
Ban Me Thuot diocese has been established since Jun 22, 1967 which includes 3 provinces of central highland Vietnam: Daklak, Quang Duc and Phuoc Long. With almost 300,000 parishioners of several different ethnic groups, the diocese has been suffering from a drought for a permanent bishop since 2006 when Bishop Joseph Nguyen Tich Duc had to resign due to illness. Bishop Paul Nguyen Van Hoa of Nha Trang diocese has been resuming the duty of an apostolic administrator since then.